ISIS-style conversion racket busted: UP Police exposes pan-India Islamic radicalization syndicate; 10 accused linked to PFI, SDPI arrested

In a major nationwide crackdown under the Yogi Adityanath-led Mission Asmita initiative, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) has busted a large-scale Islamic religious conversion and radicalisation syndicate that operated with tactics mirroring those of the ISIS. The racket, which spanned across six Indian states, involved terror funding through the dark web and targeted vulnerable Hindu women and minors through coercion, deception, and ‘love jihad’.

The operation led to the arrest of ten individuals from Delhi, Goa, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.

The arrests come close on the heels of another major bust in Balrampur earlier this month, where Jalaluddin alias Chhangur Baba was nabbed for spearheading a foreign-funded conversion racket involving over ₹100 crore in remittances and incentives for mass conversions.

AK-47, Love Jihad, and ISIS-style tactics

The current investigation began in Agra in March after two sisters, aged 33 and 18, went missing. The case soon snowballed into the exposure of a pan-India jihadi network. According to Agra Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar, one of the sisters had even uploaded a social media profile photo of a girl holding an AK-47, signalling links to terror ideologies. The police suspect that she was radicalised online and recruited into an ISIS-inspired module targeting minor girls.

The network is believed to have channeled funds through illegal routes including the dark web, with financial trails traced to Canada, the United States, London, and Dubai.

“Their methods — coercion, grooming, love jihad, and brainwashing — bear the unmistakable signature of ISIS,” said Uttar Pradesh DGP Rajeev Krishna, adding that several of the accused were linked to banned Islamist outfits such as the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).

Accused operated in multiple states

The 10 accused arrested by the Agra Police from Delhi, Goa, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, have been identified as Aisha alias S.B. Krishna (Kolkata, West Bengal), Osama (Kolkata, West Bengal), Rehman Qureshi (Agra, UP), Abbu Tariq (Muzaffarnagar, UP), Abdur Rehman (Dehradun, Uttarakhand), Mohammad Ali (Jaipur, Rajasthan), Junaid Qureshi (Jaipur Rajasthan), Mustafa alias Manoj (Delhi), and Mohammad Ali (Jaipur, Rajasthan).

They face charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (Sections 87, 111(3), and 111(4)) and the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.

Foreign funding, ISI, and Christian Missionary links

Earlier this month, in a separate yet connected case, Jalaluddin alias Chhangur Baba was arrested in Balrampur for running an elaborate conversion racket funded by over ₹100 crore from Gulf countries. His network provided caste-based incentives to Muslim men who managed to convert Hindu women. Investigations also revealed his links to Pakistan’s ISI and local Christian missionary groups operating in Uttar Pradesh.

Mission Asmita: Coordinated crackdown on conversion syndicates

The entire operation is part of Mission Asmita, a state-wide campaign initiated by the UP Government to eliminate threats to national security stemming from foreign-funded religious conversions, radicalisation, and communal subversion.

As DGP Krishna confirmed, coordination with national agencies is ongoing, and custodial remand for the accused will be sought to unravel the full scope of the conspiracy. Specialised agencies including the ATS and STF have been roped in due to the terror-linked nature of the case.

News