‘Conversion racket’: After Saturday’s raids, Agra police arrest ‘conversion kingpin’ from Delhi

He was arrested from his residence in Delhi on the basis of information provided by the accused who were arrested two days ago and are currently in police custody.

“Abdul Rehman is a close associate of Kaleem Siddiqui, who is serving a life sentence in a case related to illegal religious conversions. Hailing from Firozabad, Rehman converted to Islam after first embracing Christianity,” said Agra Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar.

He added that Rehman, whose original name was Mahendra Pal, had moved to Delhi in the 1990s, where he underwent religious conversion.

Rehman was one of four persons managing Kaleem Siddiqui’s illegal religious conversion racket following Siddiqui’s conviction, said Kumar. Police are conducting raids to locate the remaining three accused. Police said the racket members used to refer to Rehman as “Rehman Chacha” or “Rehman Uncle.”

Police said that during the investigation, it was revealed that Abdul Rehman also used to provide logistical support to members of the illegal religious conversion racket.

During a raid at his residence in Delhi, police claimed to have found a girl from Rohtak, Haryana. Upon contacting their Haryana counterparts, it was confirmed that a missing person report had been filed for her there, said the commissioner. Police also claimed to have recovered documents from the house written by convict Kaleem Siddiqui, in which Abdul Rehman’s name was mentioned.

On Saturday, Agra Police arrested 10 people from six different states, claiming to have exposed another nationwide network allegedly involved in illegal conversion activities.

Police said the network was uncovered while investigating the alleged kidnapping of two sisters, aged 33 and 18, from Agra in March this year. As the investigation moved forward, evidence pointed to a group working across several states.

Police said the accused were allegedly involved in targeting young girls, especially minors, across different states by using deceptive methods, including love jihad, to convert them to another religion. They are also suspected of promoting radical ideas and receiving money from Canada and other foreign countries.

According to police, the group used religious jihad and foreign funding for conversions and spreading radical beliefs, in a manner similar to how ISIS operates. A police officer added that the initial investigation suggests the group may have links to organisations like PFI, SDPI, and some extremist groups in Pakistan.