A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, delivered a significant ruling on September 10, convicting 16 individuals in a case involving illegal mass religious conversions.

Judge Vivekanand Saran Tripathi of the NIA/Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) court sentenced Maulana Umar Gautam, Mohammad Kaleem Siddiqui, and ten others to life imprisonment on charges that included promoting enmity, sedition, and violations under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act. Four additional individuals received 10-year rigorous imprisonment terms.

The prosecution argued that Siddiqui and others were running an extensive conversion racket through organizations and educational institutions, allegedly funded by international entities. They reportedly coerced individuals into converting through financial incentives and psychological manipulation.

The Uttar Pradesh ATS uncovered the racket following the June 2021 arrests of Umar Gautam, chairman of the Islamic Da’wah Centre in Delhi’s Batla House, and Mufti Kazi Jahangir Kasmi, a centre employee. A total of 15 others, including Gautam’s son Abdullah Umar, were subsequently arrested.

According to the prosecution, the group’s broader aim was to impose Sharia law in India. Gautam allegedly influenced vulnerable individuals by sharing his personal story of converting from Hinduism’s Thakur caste to Islam, often highlighting caste-based discrimination. The network is said to have promised employment to those who converted.

Foreign funding was allegedly funneled to Gautam and his associates to carry out these activities, with the goal of altering India’s demographic composition, disrupting public order, and posing a threat to national security.