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Last updated: Jun 12, 2023 at 10:21 am IST
The accused, 23-year-old Shahnawaz Khan, along with Maulvi, used to convince the victims that if they read the Quran, they would win the match. Through this they gained their faith. (photo: News18)
Mumbra Police carried out raids at several hostels in Alibagh during the night after receiving a tip that Shahnawaz Khan had been hiding there since Saturday morning. Khan is later arrested with the help of the Alibaug Police
Shahnawaz Khan, a prime suspect in an alleged online game and religious conversion racket, was traced to Worli in Mumbai before he was arrested in Alibaug by Mumbra police on Sunday night.
Ghaziabad Police sought help from Mumbra Police after Khan’s involvement in online gaming and religious conversion case, so a joint operation was conducted to arrest him but he escaped with his mother and brother.
According to the sources, Thane Police sought help from the Mumbai Police, but by that time, Shahnawaz Khan had changed his location and fled to Alibagh.
Mumbra Police carried out raids at several hostels in Alibagh overnight after receiving a tip-off that Khan had been hiding there since Saturday morning. Khan is later arrested with the help of the Alibaug Police.
Khan told police that he initially communicated with the victim (a boy) on Fortnite, an online gaming app, in early 2021. Later, they exchanged cellphone numbers and began contacting the game’s Discord feature, and eventually, they became friends.
A few days later, the victim stopped playing the game on Fortnite, and joined Valorent. Then both were connected on the gaming platform at the end of December 2021.
While playing the game, they reach the target location, the Ice Box, where the two have a conversation about religious conversion for the first time and discuss Zakir Naik’s TV gospel speech.
A mobile phone, an iPad and a computer were seized from Khan’s home, which he used to access the gaming app. His WhatsApp and Instagram accounts are under scrutiny.
An FIR against Khan was filed under the jurisdiction of Kavi Nagar Police Station in Ghaziabad on 30 May.
The victim’s family gave the suspect’s digital ID as Baddo. When the internet team traced his location, the real identity of the accused was 23-year-old Shahnawaz Maqsood Khan from Thane.
The second accused was identified as Maulvi from Ghaziabad. They have converted one Jain and two Hindu boys.
The defendants were using the Fortnite app to fetch targets on a single platform, and used a Hindu ID to interact with them.
They used to convince the victims that if they read the Quran they would win the game. Through this, they gained their faith and then gradually moved towards the Discord chat engine.
Once the boys came to the chat engine, they were shown Zakir Naik videos. After converting to Islam, the victims were introduced to videos by Tariq Jamil, a Pakistani Islamic televangelist and member of the Tablighi Jamaat, to convert them to believers.
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