The Allahabad High Court on 16 December denied bail to Mohammad Umar Gautam who was arrested last year on the allegations of running a mass conversion racket in the state and converting the religion of over 1000 people to Islam. His son and three other accused were also denied bail by the court.
“(evidence) reflects that he was carrying on anti-national activities with the help of anti-social elements for achieving a nefarious design that would weaken the social fabric of the country and developed and spread hatredness amongst the people of different religions which would disturb the public tranquility and public order. He has also received huge sum of money in his personal accounts from different sources including foreign countries,” the bench comprising Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Saroj Yadav observed.
As per the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), Umar and others were using psychological pressure for forceful conversions as a part of their plan to set up an Islamic state and to receive funding from different countries to carry out conversions.
Umar and his aides were targetting the weaker sections of society, children, women, and the people belonging to Scheduled Castes/Tribes. Their object and goal were to change the country’s demography by converting the citizens from their religion to Islam, the state government stated during the hearing.
Umar has been booked under Sections 420, 120-B, 153-A, 153-B, 295-A, 511 of IPC, and 3/5 U.P. Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
