Delhi conversion racket: Promise of marriage, Rs 1 lakh per month, government job takes religious turn

Mohammed Kalim, the accused held by the Delhi Police in connection with an alleged conversion racket at Turkman Gate Night Shelter, would show YouTube videos of his religion to Hindu youths and question their faith.

Additionally, he would coerce them into giving up their faith. The accused had coerced some Hindu youths to recite religious verses before they started their work.

"The modus operandi is the same as the Ghaziabad conversion racket, where the victims were shown YouTube videos and asked to recite religious verses before starting any work," a source said.

Kalim had also attempted to bribe Sandeep Sagar, the victim in the current case. The accused promised him a monthly payment of Rs one lakh, arranged for a government job, and offered to arrange his marriage if he converted to Islam.

Sagar had been working as a caretaker at the Night Shelter at Delhi Gate for four years, where Kalim forced him to convert to Islam.

"Kalim started bothering me unnecessarily. Sometimes he would demand money, and other times he would force me to recite particular religious slogans/verses that were not from my religion before I started my work. I lodged a complaint in this regard at Police Station Daryaganj, but Kalim apologised and I forgave him," read the FIR accessed by IANS.

Kalim had also requested that he wanted to spread Hindu-Muslim brotherhood and would never indulge in such activities, after which the victim had withdrawn his complaint. However, Kalim didn’t mend his ways, and Sagar got himself transferred to Turkman Gate Night Shelter. Two persons, Feroz and Zeeshan, used to live at this Night Shelter.

Mohammed Kalim used to visit Turkman Gate Night Shelter also to meet Feroz and Zeeshan. The trio would collect money for the Madrasa. "Here too, Kalim forced me to watch particular videos on YouTube. He told me that Hinduism has no virtues.

"Kalim showed me religious videos on YouTube and said that Hinduism has no special features. Through the videos, he explained the shortcomings of Hinduism. He also told me that if I converted to Islam, he would arrange a marriage for me. Additionally, I was promised one lakh rupees per month and a government job if I did what he said," Sagar alleged in the FIR.

Sagar later learned that Kalim had also forced two Hindu youths, Sujit Kumar and Vicky Sharma, to convert to Islam. Kalim told them that Hinduism had flaws and also made significant efforts to lure them into his trap.

Sagar has also alleged that recently Kalim succeeded in converting a Hindu youth, named Sanjeet Kumar to Islam. Sanjeet is now living under the name Abbas.

"Recently, Mohd Kalim has filed a false case against me in Kamla Market to exert pressure on me. He has made inappropriate comments about my religion, hurt my religious sentiments, and tried to tempt me into converting to the Muslim faith, which I cannot tolerate anymore. I had hoped that Mohd Kalim would reform himself, but his actions continue to be unacceptable. I request that you take appropriate legal action in this regard," the victim has alleged in the FIR.

Kalim is a B.Tech graduate in Computer Science and has been arrested, police said on Sunday. The police said that more arrests in the case are likely. A special team is looking into the matter.

"We received a complaint from Sandeep Saagar, a resident of Turkman Gate, alleging that Mohammed Kalim was enticing and pressuring him to convert to the Muslim religion," said a police officer.

Upon receiving the complaint, the police conducted a preliminary inquiry and found prima facie evidence supporting the allegations. Consequently, the police registered an FIR under sections 153-A and 295-A of the Indian Penal Code at the Chandni Mahal Police Station. Kalim was arrested on Saturday.

"We have arrested Mohammed Kalim, who has been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody after being produced before the court."