Days after a conversion row was uncovered in Hyderabad, the Rachakonda police arrested a forest beat officer working in Jayashankar Bhoopalpally district, for allegedly helping the gang, by 'supplying' them with children.
This week, the police along with district child welfare officials, raided the premises of Peace Orphan Home Society and busted a major row.
The police arrested Mohammed Siddique, the chief accused, along with 9 others, for luring children from poor families and converting them to Islam, without changing their Hindu names.
During the raid, the police rescued 10 boys and seven girls from the building in Moula Ali's Maruthi Nagar area.
The Deccan Chronicle reported that two children hailing from the erstwhile Warangal district were procured by Amer, after the a forest beat Officer working in the Eturunagaram agency area, met the gang in Warangal.
“Amer has been arrested and produced before a court. We suspect that more persons may have been involved with this gang and helped them procure kids,” Malkajgiri ACP G Sundeep told DC.
The police said that Siddique targeted children from marginalised communities, especially STs, after convincing their parents that the child's education and accommodation would be provided for.
For this, he visited lower economic areas in parts of Bhadrachalam, Mahabubnagar, Khammam, Warangal and Suryapet in Telangana.
The police are also probing if Siddique was involved in such conversions before this.
The police case has been registered under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 342 (wrongful confinement), 363 (kidnapping) of the IPC and relevant sections of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Juvenile Justice Act.
Telangana does not have a specific anti-conversion law, unlike some other states in India like Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.
Earlier this week, TNM visited the home where the alleged conversion was taking place.