On Wednesday, the Prayagraj police arrested madrassa teacher Mahmood Hasan Ghazi and Hindu-turned-Muslim Mohd. Monish and Sameer are sent to jail. The police has taken action against all the three for spreading religious frenzy in the Magh Mela, including the section for religious conversion and other accused. To collect evidence against them, the police will soon interrogate all three on police custody remand. Many questions including foreign funding are yet to be answered.
DCP Crime Satish Chandra told that Kareli’s teacher Mahmood Hasan Ghazi and Hanumanganj’s Mohd. Monish alias Ashish Gupta and Sameer alias Naresh Saroj of Kaushambi were arrested. More than two hundred objectionable religious books were recovered from them. All three were interrogated from Tuesday night to Wednesday afternoon. Apart from the police, teams of intelligence agencies interrogated them accordingly. Information about traveling abroad was taken from the madrasa teacher. He was asked when the passport was made and with whom he had gone abroad. With whom was he in contact there?
Apart from this, the police questioned the other two accused about their journey from Hindu to Muslim. Police Mohd. Asked Monish where he had roamed. Who all did I meet while studying in the Madrasa in Azamgarh for one year? When was Monish associated with the Student Islamic Organization. What was the routine of the people working with him? How many more people are there who have been converted from Hindu to Muslim. Taking information about these facts, the police team is working in a confidential manner. In this case, ADCP Crime says that the information found in the inquiry is being verified.
Money was sent from abroad through wallet, ongoing investigation
Funding from abroad for printing objectionable literature and conversion did not send money to bank accounts, rather the transaction was done through wallet. Crypto currency was also being used in this game. That’s why the transaction information could not be obtained from the current bank statement of the arrested people.
ADCP Crime Satish Chandra said that the detailed information of both the bank accounts of Madrasa teacher Mahmood Hasan Ghazi is being investigated. A full report has been sought from the bank. Intelligence agencies are probing his mobile. Information is also being collected about Kasim living in Patthar Gali of Shahganj. He is accused of funding the teacher from Abu Dhabi. Apart from Kasim, information has been received about another person who used to send money from abroad. He is a relative of teacher Mahmood Hasan. He operates taxis in Gulf countries. He has not come to Prayagraj for many years. But his ancestral house is right here. Police is also gathering information by interrogating the brothers of suspect Qasim. On getting evidence against him, the police can also make Kasim an accused.
The villagers said that following the footsteps of his uncle, Ashish became a Muslim.
The family of Ashish Gupta, accused of spreading religious frenzy by converting from Hindu to Muslim, has been living in Maharashtra for many years. Ration card has been made in the name of Ashish Gupta’s mother Shakuntala Devi in Sudnipur village of Hanumanganj. The names of husband Shivkumar, daughter Sneha, son Ashish and daughter Khushi are registered in this ration card. Kotedar Ganesh Dubey told that he has not taken ration for the last two months. Before this, sometimes Shivkumar and sometimes the family members of Ashish Gupta used to take ration from the quota. Ashish used to come and go in the village. He used to come to the village for two to four days in a month. On talking, he used to tell the villagers that he works in a book depot, due to which he has to go to many cities. The villagers told that there was news of conversion of Ashish’s uncle but there was no information about Ashish. His lifestyle and actions in the village did not give the impression that he had converted. People said that Ashish became a Muslim following his uncle’s footsteps.