Gujarat: 4 held for religious conversion of tribals in Bharuch; police say Umar Gautam part of conspiracy

BHARUCH: Four persons were arrested in Gujarat on Wednesday for allegedly being part of a racket involved in illegally converting to Islam at least 100 tribal residents of a village in Amod taluka of Bharuch district using foreign funds over many years, police said.
Police said Delhi resident Mohammad Umar Gautam, who was arrested by UP ATS on charges of effecting mass conversions, and his aide Salauddin Shaikh, who hails from Vadodara, were in contact with the main accused Abdulla Fefdawala, a native of Nabipur town of Bharuch who is currently living in London.
Gautam and Shaikh are currently lodged in the Vadodara jail.
Of the total nine persons against whom an FIR was registered by the Bharuch district police on November 15, four were arrested on Wednesday, said Bharuch Deputy SP MP Bhojani.
The FIR was registered against the nine persons under the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act along with section 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 153(B)(C) (act likely to cause disharmony) and 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly luring tribals of Kankaria village in Amod taluka to embracing Islam by offering them money and other allurements.
The arrested accused are identified as Abdul Aziz Patel, Yusuf Patel, Aiyub Patel and Ibrahim Patel, all residents of Kankaria village.
The main accused, Abdulla Fefdawal had visited Bharuch several times in the past, said Bhojani.
"Using foreign funds collected and sent by Fefdawala, the local accused fraudulently converted nearly 100 Vasava Hindus to Islam. This racket has been going on for the last 15 years. The accused persons lured the poor tribals by offering them money, food, jobs, clothes and education," said Bhojani.
Meanwhile, Vadodara Police has informed their Bharuch counterpart that Umar Gautam and Salauddin Shaikh, the Managing Trustee of Vadodara-based AFMI Charitable Trust, were also involved in this conversion racket operated in Bharuch using foreign funds.
Gautam was held by the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in June on charges of fraudulently converting people to Islam. Later, UP ATS arrested Gautam's aide Shaikh from Vadodara for his involvement in diverting funds of AFMI trust for conversions and to provide legal help to anti-CAA protestors and those arrested in Delhi communal riots.
Last month, Vadodara Police, probing the alleged misuse of foreign funds, took custody of both the accused from UP ATS and brought them here. They are currently in judicial custody.
The investigation by the Vadodara city crime branch has revealed that Fefdawala had sent Rs 80 crore to Shaikh through FCRA and Hawala channels as part of a conspiracy, the crime branch said in a release issued on Wednesday. Shaikh had used this money to fund the construction of mosques in border areas (of Gujarat), convert people to Islam in Gujarat and in other parts of the country and fund anti-CAA protests. Part of this fund was also used to provide legal help to rioters held by the Delhi police following protests, said the release.
"We have also learnt that funds were also used for converting nearly 100 tribals of Amod under a well-planned conspiracy," said Assistant Commissioner of Police, Vadodara city crime branch, DS Chauhan.
It was also revealed that Fefdawala, Shaikh and Gautam had visited Bharuch and held meetings several times in the past. Shaikh had sent Rs 27 lakh through Hawala to his connections in Bharuch and neighbouring districts as part of the conspiracy, said Chauhan.
"We learnt that Shaikh had visited nearly 1,000 places in the Bharuch district in one year while Gautam visited Bharuch 18 to 19 times to hold secret meetings. We have shared this information with Bharuch police for further probe," Chauhan added.