The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Thursday made yet another arrest in connection with the illegal religious conversion racket in the state.
Sarfaraz Ali Zafri was arrested from the state’s Amroha district.
As per an ATS media release, Zafri was allegedly working with main accused, cleric Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, and has been involved in several cases of illegal conversions since 2016.
GK Goswamy, the Inspector General of the ATS, said that the officials came to know about him while they were interrogating Siddiqui.
“Zafri used to work at Global Peace centre of Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, who was arrested earlier. He was also member of Revert, Rehab, and Dawa WhatsApp Group through which his gang members spread religious hatred, induced people to adopt Islam by giving various kinds of inducements,” he said.
Sarfaraz Zafri will now be taken on remand and a thorough questioning will be done.
Earlier this year, the ATS had busted an illegal religious conversion racket in June, and arrested Umar Gautam and his accomplice Mufti Kazi Jahangir Qasmi.
Further probe exposed its Nagpur syndicate and led to the arrest of Rameshwar Kawre alias Adam, Qausar Alam, and Bhuriya Bando alias Arslan Mustafa.
A Gujarat businessman named Salahuddin Jainuddin and a Maharashtra-based doctor identified as Firoz Shah were also nabbed.
The ATS arrested Maulana Siddiqui on September 22, along with three of his associates Idris Qureshi, Saleem and Kunal Ashok on September 26.
