The investigation into the Bareilly religious conversion racket has revealed a much larger network than initially thought. Police officials have revealed that the gang led by Maulana Abdul Majeed has links spread across at least 13 states in India and is supported by more than 200 maulanas. They lured vulnerable people into converting to Islam using both temptations and threats.
On Wednesday, 27th August, police teams raided the house of another accused, Mahboob Beg, a resident of Rahpura in Izzatnagar, but he managed to escape.
According to media reports, Beg is the second most important figure in the gang after Majeed. He used to work as a middleman, maintaining contact with the gang leader and other members. Police are also interrogating the relatives and friends of the accused who have been arrested, and monitoring their financial transactions as well.
Suspected foreign funding
The conversion racket is now being linked to foreign funding. According to officials, the accused were handling unusually large amounts of money that did not match their income levels. Abdul Majeed and his wife operated five bank accounts, and deposits of more than ₹13.20 lakh have been found in these accounts.
Salman, one of the arrested men who works as a tailor, was operating 12 accounts, including six in the name of his wife. Police noted that the transactions in his accounts are around 12 lakhs, which is far higher than what could be justified by his income. Similarly, two accounts each of Arif and Faheem have also been found, and further scrutiny is underway.
SP (South) Anshika Verma informed that call detail records (CDRs) of the arrested accused, Abdul Majeed, Salman, Arif, and Faheem, are being scrutinised thoroughly.
As per their records, Majeed used to call individuals on landline numbers in Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan very often. “We are also studying these call records and their bank accounts. The hawala aspect is being looked into, and more arrests are imminent,” the SP further stated.
CDs of Pakistani clerics and Zakir Naik speeches
Police are also trying to find out how the gang obtained religious literature, CDs of Pakistani maulanas, and speeches of fugitive Islamist preacher Zakir Naik. Police suspect that the gang may have been working with a larger ideological network that provided them with this material.
On social media, the accused ran several groups on WhatsApp and other platforms where they promoted Zakir Naik’s lectures and other radical content. They shared audio and video clips of Islamic fundamentalists. Police also discovered that photographs and videos of young Hindu girls were circulated in these groups.
All of the accused’s mobile phones and digital devices have been seized. The data is now being examined to trace more people who were either influenced or directly involved.
Converted Hindu men through marriage
New details have emerged showing how Abdul Majeed even used his own family to trap Hindus into conversion. A few years ago, he arranged the marriage of his sister, Ayesha, with a Hindu man from Agra named Piyush. After the marriage, Piyush was converted to Islam and given the name Mohammad Ali. Not only Piyush, but also his family members were also drawn into the network and made to join the gang’s activities.
Possible links to drug trafficking
Police are also exploring another disturbing angle, possible links between the conversion racket and narcotics smuggling. Some known drug traffickers, who had earlier been jailed, were found to be in contact with Abdul Majeed. Investigators believe that the gang may have been using illegal trade networks to fund their operations.
More families targeted in Subhashnagar
During the investigation, police discovered that the racket had converted multiple Hindu families in the Subhashnagar area of Bareilly. Earlier, it was revealed that Brijpal Sahu, his mother Usha Devi, and sister Rajkumari were converted and given new names, Abdullah, Amina, and Ayesha.
Now, police say another Hindu family in the same locality was also converted using pressure and inducements as the tactics. Abdul Majeed had kept four members of this family at his madarsa in Faiznagar for several days before converting them. This family is now living in Subhashnagar. The police are still trying to trace them.
Intelligence agencies tracking his travel history
With the growing size of the racket, intelligence units have become actively involved. They are mapping out Abdul Majeed’s travel history, which shows that he visited more than 13 states and built networks there. So far, no evidence of foreign travel has been found, but agencies are not ruling out the possibility of overseas connections.
How the racket was busted
The racket first came to light on Monday, 25th August, when Bareilly police arrested four people, Abdul Majeed (35), Salman Raza (30), Mohammad Arif (29), and Mohammad Faheem (24). A case has been registered by the police under Sections 140(3)/351(3) of the BNS and Section 3/5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
The arrests followed a complaint from an Aligarh-based woman, Akhilesh Kumari, who said that her visually impaired son, Prabhat Upadhyay, was being forced to convert to Islam under the pretext of marriage.
When police raided Faiznagar madarsa, they found the four accused preparing to circumcise the boy as part of the conversion ritual. Initially, the boy introduced himself as “Hamid” but later revealed his real name as Prabhat. He was rescued and handed over to his family.
थाना भुता बरेली पुलिस द्वारा थाना भुता पर पंजीकृत मु0अ0सं0 377/2025 धारा 140(3)/351(3) बीएनएस व 3/5(1) उ0प्र0 विधि विरुद्ध धर्म संपरिवर्तन प्रतिषेध अधिनियम, 2021 से संबंधित 04 अभियुक्तों की गिरफ्तारी एवं बरामदगी के संबंध में सुश्री अंशिका वर्मा #SP South बरेली की बाइट।#UPPolice https://t.co/hOveW3QedX pic.twitter.com/YSnPOiNzS3
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) August 26, 2025
During the raid, police seized conversion certificates, sharp blades, CDs of Zakir Naik’s speeches, religious books, laptops, and mobile phones.
Targeted vulnerable individuals and brainwashed them
According to investigators, the gang carefully targeted vulnerable individuals, the poor, unmarried youth, and people with disabilities. They were lured with marriage proposals, jobs, and money.
Salman, a tailor by profession, acted as a recruiter who visited Hindu households under the pretext of offering help or introducing them to Muslim girls. Faheem, a barber, identified potential victims among his customers. Once a target was found, they were taken to the madarsa, where they were brainwashed using religious texts and propaganda material.
This is the sixth Islamic conversion racket busted by the authorities in Uttar Pradesh in this year. Earlier, the authorities, uncovered Islamic conversion rackets in Balrampur, Agra, Prayagraj, Kushinagar, and Aligarh.
