In a recent turn of events, the city police booked a person in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh (UP) for allegedly running an online racket using an online mobile gaming app encouraging children to convert their religious identities.
The accused individual is identified as Abdul Rehman, a resident of Balia and a member of mosque committee in Sanjay Nagar. According to police, Rehman had been operating the racket for almost four years now and is believed to have a role in the religious conversion of at least four youths.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Ghaziabad, Nipun Agarwal said, “On May 30, a case of religious conversion was registered at Kavi Nagar Police Station, in which two people were named and were identified as Shahnawaz Khan alias Baddo, a resident of Thane, Maharashtra and Nanni alias Abdul Rehman, a Maulavi at a mosque in Sanjay Nagar area. Rehman has been arrested.”
“During an investigation, the role of Rehman in the conversion of a minor Jain boy and two Hindu boys was found and police have seized electronic evidence and affidavits related to it,” Agarwal added according to The Print.
The investigation started as a result of a police complaint made by the father of a boy from Faridabad who claimed that his son had interacted with someone through a gaming app. According to the father, the person asked his son to visit the mosque in Sanjay Nagar and pray.
ACP, Abhishek Srivastava revealed that the boy and other children came in contact with Rehman through the gaming app after which they shared phone numbers and later Rehman started preaching them.
“We have questioned the boy from Faridabad and learnt that he and the others were in contact with Rehman through a gaming app since 2021. His mother witnessed a change in his behaviour and tried to counsel him, but to no avail,” the ACP said. “We are yet to question the youth from Chandigarh,” Srivastava concluded.
