An international syndicate is operating in the country, fanning illegal religious conversions, and is also responsible for training people already converted to illegally convert others, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday. Emphasising that eliminating this syndicate is necessary, Adityanath directed state officials to take every small information about illegal conversion seriously and initiate appropriate action. The Chief Minister passed the directives to officials of the Home department, police and district administration during a law and order review meeting in Lucknow on Tuesday. The meeting was convened to review preparations ahead of the upcoming festivals, arrangements for devotees, and the annual kanwar yatra. Noting that incidents of illegal religious conversion have emerged in different parts of the country in recent times, Adityanath said: “We are aware of the incident of religious conversion of young children in Ghaziabad through online gaming/chatting app. In one incident, a mook-badhir (speech- and hearing-impaired) child was encouraged for illegal religious conversion. Prompt action was taken and a big conspiracy was exposed. It is necessary to nip such anti-social and anti-national incidents in the bud. A small negligence today can turn into cancer in the future.” Adityanath was referring to the arrest earlier this month of a man named Abdul Rehman, alias Nanni, a resident of Ballia and currently living in Ghaziabad's Sanjay Nagar, for allegedly inciting and motivating two minors to engage in religious activities. According to a release issued by the state government, the Chief Minister said in the meeting that it has been confirmed that a “big international syndicate” was involved in illegal religious conversions. This syndicate, he said, is training people who have already undergone conversion and getting them to do illegal conversions in a planner manner. “That syndicate targets divyang (differently abled) children and job-seeking youths,” Adityanath said, according to the release. “They also allure (people) by offering money. Eradicating this syndicate is necessary — a strict law against illegal religious conversion is in operation in the state, and prompt action should be taken against every such activity,” he said. Adityanath asked officials to be alert in the upcoming festival seasons — with Bakrid, Shivratri, Nagpanchami and Rakshabandhan coming up — and the month of Shraavan. Pointing out that the annual kanwar yatra is commencing from July 4, Adityanath directed officials to take all measures to ensure these festivals are celebrated in an atmosphere of peace and harmony. Regarding kanwar yatra, he said, "Respecting the belief of devotees, meat should not be allowed to be sold in the open on the kanwar route. The route should remain clean and sanitised. There should be provision of streetlights. Since the weather is hot, arrangements of drinking water should also be made.” He directed officials to install CCTVs and set up health posts on the yatra routes. In the meeting, Adityanath directed officials to develop all 17 municipal corporations and Gautam Buddh Nagar district headquarters as a “safe city” in the next three months. In the next stage, all remaining urban local bodies will be developed as “safe cities”, he said, according to the release.
