A religious conversion angle has come to the fore during interrogation of the recently arrested 16-members of radical Islamist outfit Hizb-Ut-Tahrir (HuT), with at least five of the arrested members found to have converted from Hinduism to Islam along with their wives some years ago.
According to sources, the two key accused of the HuT module busted by the MP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in association with the Telangana Police on 9 May, are Bhopal-based gym trainer Yasir Khan and Mohammad Salim, who belongs to Bhopal but was presently teaching as a senior professor in a pharmacy college at Hyderabad in Telangana.
Sources said Mohammad Salim’s real name is Saurabh Rajvaidya and he is the son of retired ayurvedic doctor, Dr Ashok Jain of Bhopal.
Sources said besides Mohammad Salim (Saurabh Rajvaidya), the other accused who converted from Hinduism to Islam include Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Abbas Ali. Abdur Rehman was originally known as Devi Narayan Panda while Mohammad Abbas Ali’s Hindu name is Benu Kumar, said sources.
All the five converted accused have married Hindu girls who have also been converted to Islam along with their husbands, sources said.
Confirming the development, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said the ongoing probe has revealed religious conversion of seven people in the case. Mishra said those responsible for brainwashing the Hindu youth to convert to Islam include a gym trainer, a professor, a software engineer, a software technician and a private coaching operator.
The home minister said the youths who were brainwashed to convert to Islam consequently made their respective wives to convert to Islam too.
“We will not permit any such activities in Madhya Pradesh,” Mishra averred.