UP ATS Launches Probe Into Prayagraj Conversion Row, Questions Two Suspects

ATS officers arrived at Phulpur Police Station and conducted an intense three-hour interrogation of two key suspects, Daraksha Bano and Mohammad Kaif.

The ATS has launched a probe into the conversion row in Prayagraj involving a Dalit minor girl. (Representational Image)

Source : ABPLIVE AI

The Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Uttar Pradesh police has launched a probe into the shocking case from Prayagraj, where a minor Dalit girl was allegedly abducted and taken to Kerala for forced religious conversion and jihadi training.

On Tuesday, ATS officers arrived at Phulpur Police Station and conducted an intense three-hour interrogation of two key suspects, Daraksha Bano and Mohammad Kaif.

During questioning, officials pressed Daraksha for details about her contacts in Kerala and the individuals she met who are suspected of involvement in the conspiracy. Investigators also asked who had orchestrated the plan to link the minor girl with jihadi ideology. Kaif was similarly grilled about his role and any wider network connections.

Authorities suspect that an international radical Islamic network could be behind the plot, aiming to lure poor and vulnerable minor girls into religious conversion as a pathway to radicalisation.

The ATS has begun scrutinising the accused individuals’ mobile phones, social media activity, travel records, and banking transactions. Sources indicate that if evidence emerges of foreign funding, strict measures such as invoking the National Security Act (NSA) could follow.

Currently, ATS teams are working tirelessly to trace the entire network involved. Local officials have confirmed that the investigation is moving forward on several crucial fronts.

According to police, the victim was lured and taken to Kerala under false pretences. The probe revealed the role of two young men from the city in her abduction, and they have since been arrested. 

Additional suspects have also been identified by the police in connection with the Kerala module and have deployed teams to apprehend them.

Senior police officer Ajay Pal Sharma said the girl was misled and taken to Kerala for religious conversion. "Two men from Prayagraj have been arrested in the case, and efforts are underway to apprehend others involved from Kerala," he said. 

Sharma also said that significant breakthroughs are expected soon as the investigation progresses.