Bareilly conversion racket: Unregistered madrassa allegedly used for channelling funds

Bareilly (UP), Sep 2 (PTI) A madrassa linked to a recently busted alleged religious conversion racket in Bareilly is unregistered, police said on Tuesday and suspects it was being used solely to channel funds for the illegal activities.

Superintendent of Police (South) Anshika Verma said the institution was registered as a society, but its renewal had not been completed.

“We are investigating why it was being run as a madrassa despite lacking valid registration. The possibility that it was used only for funding purposes cannot be ruled out,” she said.

Formalities for demolition of the madrassa building are underway, police sources said.

The racket’s mastermind, Abdul Majeed, had been operating the madrassa.

The police last week arrested Majeed and three others for running a gang that allegedly lured Hindus, often through promises of marriage and money, and converted them. They had also rescued a man, who was allegdly held captive at the madrassa for forced religious conversion and marriage.

Investigations revealed that the network extended beyond Bareilly to 29 districts across 14 states. The police said the gang collected donations under the guise of madrassa funding.

Officers found 21 bank accounts linked to the four arrested members. Five accounts were held by Abdul Majeed and his wife, through which nearly 2,000 transactions, amounting to over Rs 13 lakh, were made in recent months.

Salman, another accused, controlled 12 accounts - six each in his own name and his wife’s name - while Arif and Faheem had two accounts each, police said.

“During questioning, it became clear that the funding was routed through a madrassa society whose registration had not been renewed. No valid documents of madrassa registration have been found,” Verma said.

The SP said that the police were coordinating with relevant authorities for further action and continuing their probe into the gang’s financial and operational network. PTI CORR ABN ABN RT RT