02-07-2025
After Prayagraj girl's rescue from Kerala, agencies probing conversion-terror links
After a Prayagraj-based Dalit girl was rescued from Kerala last week, the Uttar Pradesh law enforcement agencies suspect there is a larger nexus involved in the forced religious conversion of poor Dalit girls. Another senior police official privy to the investigation said the rescued Dalit girl revealed that she was kept at a place along with 18-20 girls in the age group of 14 to 24. (PICTURE FOR REPRESENTATION ONLY)
The agencies are exploring wider angles, including suspected involvement in terrorist activity and radicalisation.
The UP ATS is probing the racket under which Dalit girls were forcibly taken to states like Kerala and pressured to convert to Islam. The police had earlier arrested a woman, identified as Daraksha Bano, and her maternal cousin Mohammad Kaif in connection with the kidnapping of the Dalit girl and her forced religious conversion.
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The girl from the Phulpur area in Prayagraj district was allegedly taken to Kerala by her neighbour Daraksha and forced to embrace Islam before being linked to a terror organisation, the Prayagraj police had said on Monday. The police also said the girl, belonging to a Scheduled Caste, was rescued on June 28 from Thrissur railway station after she managed to alert her mother through the local police.
The information obtained from Daraksha Bano and Kafi revealed that the duo took the minor girl to Kerala at the behest of one Mohammad Taj, resident of Phulpur, Prayagraj police added.
'There is preliminary evidence of links to terrorist organisations and religious conversion rackets. Further investigations are underway to identify and arrest other gang members, including Mohammad Taj,' said Prayagraj deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Trans-Ganga, Kuldeep Singh Gunawat.
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'The arrest of the key accused Taj could unfold the nexus behind it. The state agencies, like UP ATS and central agencies, have been informed about the development. The Prayagraj police teams are working in coordination with central intelligence agencies to explore possible inter-state and organisational connections in the case,' Gunawat added.
Another senior police official privy to the investigation said the rescued Dalit girl revealed that she was kept at a place where 18-20 girls in the age group of 14 to 24, from different states, were kept. She stayed there for 20 days before escaping on June 28.
He said the girl had told the police that she was forced to embrace Islam and learn Urdu and Persian. He said the input has been provided to central agencies, and officials have interacted with the rescued girl to obtain more information about the Kerala centre where she was kept.
The girl disappeared from her home on May 8 night, according to officials.
Investigations revealed she was transported on a motorbike by Daraksha and Kaif to the Prayagraj junction railway station. The girl was then taken by train to Delhi and later to Thrissur in Kerala.
In Kerala, police said, she was introduced to a group of suspicious individuals and allegedly lured with money and converted to Islam. Police further claimed that she was coerced into associating with a terrorist outfit on the pretext of 'jihad'.
On June 28, the girl fled to the Thrissur railway station, where she sought help from local police. With their assistance, she contacted her mother in Uttar Pradesh. A police team from Phulpur subsequently travelled to Kerala and brought her back. She is currently staying at a One Stop Centre in Prayagraj.
Meanwhile, the girl's mother has reportedly received threats from unidentified persons warning her against approaching police. Security personnel have been deployed at the family's home.
