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Shahnawaz Khan alias Badu, a prime suspect wanted by the UP Police for allegedly running a racket involved in religious conversion of youths through an online gaming app, has been arrested from Raigad district of Maharashtra state, an official said Sunday.
He was arrested from Alibagh town. The official told PTI that the Ghaziabad police are looking for Khan, who hails from Mumbra town in Maharashtra’s Thane district. He said Khan would be taken to Mumbra for questioning, but refused to give further details.
As per the case details, Khan and a mosque cleric in Ghaziabad have been booked under the Uttar Pradesh law to ban illegal conversion on the basis of a complaint. Police said a Ghaziabad man lodged a complaint with the police last month alleging that the cleric and Badu had illegally converted his son, who had recently passed his class 12 majlis exam, to Islam.
Police said the complainant alleged that his son contacted Bedouin through an online gaming app and repeatedly spoke to him, which then prompted him to convert to Islam. Police said the boy told his father that he had converted to Islam after Badu convinced him to do so.
How did the scam happen?
report from Aaj tak Allegedly, the whole process of convincing the children to convert to Islam took place in three stages. In the beginning, children were involved in online games. In the first stage, individuals with Hindu names create ID cards and encourage children to play the game ‘Fortnite’. The pivotal moment occurred when the child lost the game, whereupon they were informed that reciting verses from the Qur’an would ensure victory.
If the child recited the verse and played the game, a plot was prepared to ensure their victory. This scheme aims to reinforce the child’s inclination towards faith.
After that, the second stage began, which is chatting with the child through the “Discord” application, where the child’s confidence was gradually gained, and they were provided with information about Islam. Over time, video clips showing Zakir Naik and Tariq Jamil were shown to the child, prompting them to convert to Islam.
As the child’s inclination to Islam grows and they show their willingness to convert to Islam, the final step involved obtaining an affidavit from them. The report says that this certificate would declare that the child was voluntarily accepting Islam on his own.
What is the role of Shahnawaz in this?
The Aaj Tak report says that Shahnawaz played an important role as the alleged mastermind behind the whole operation. He would befriend children through online games, then talk to them, convince them of the benefits of Islam, and try to convert them.
According to the interrogation, Shahnawaz revealed that in 2021, he contacted the victim child from Ghaziabad through Fortnite game. This is where they got acquainted. They then started communicating through the Discord messaging app, and stopped playing Fortnite.
During the interrogation, Shahnawaz revealed that in December 2021, they resumed playing a game called Volarent. During this game, they reach the ICE BOX target, which becomes the turning point in the diversion incident. It did not mention the specific details of what the cleric told Shahnawaz in this regard.
In this case, Mawlawi Abdul Rahman, who is serving in a mosque in Sanjay Nagar, Ghaziabad, was arrested by the police four days ago. According to reports, during police interrogation, Maulvi admitted his involvement in the radicalization of underage boys. He admitted providing information about Islam to non-Muslim children and influencing them.
Abdul stated that about a year ago, he met two boys from the area. These boys were inspired by his teachings and started attending prayers in the mosque.
PTI contributed to this report
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