A religious conversion racket operating in Agra has been exposed with Pakistani and Gaza international links, which has revealed a complex network that had its eyes on young girls, predominantly via social media, online games, end-to-end encrypted communications apps, and dark web. The extensive inquiry and arrests were announced by Agra Police in July 2025, with Pakistani handlers involved and transactions traced back to the Gaza Strip.
Video Games like Ludo used
The racket worked by affecting vulnerable youngsters through websites like video games, especially Ludo, to create contact and gradually instill Islamic religious content and ideology. The gang is believed to have used end-to-end encrypted messaging apps and coded language in an effort to evade tracking, with online transactions between two Pakistani nationals, Tanveer Ahmed and Sahil Adeem, being prime handlers.
Financial Links with Pakistan and Gaza
The ringmasters of the operation are Abdul Rehman alias Rehman Chacha (former Mahendra Pal) and Ayesha (former SB Krishna), both of whom are converts, and twelve other arrested co-conspirators, who admitted being members of this conversion racket. Investigators discovered that money for the network was some of them raised through crowdfunding and cryptocurrency transactions with clear financial links to individuals in Gaza.
Agra Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar explained that the girls who were rescued, including some of Kashmiri origin, were in touch with handlers in Pakistan and had been convinced to embrace Islam, frequently criticizing Hinduism. As many as 14 suspects have been questioned so far, and the rescued victims were found to be from various northern Indian states such as Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Haryana.
Coordinated raids across the country
Among the notable witnesses is a 21-year-old woman who was rescued from Uttarakhand and testified before the magistrate. Police teams have conducted coordinated raids in various states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Goa, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Haryana and arrested a combined total of about 20 individuals who were involved in the racket.
Traces to LeT and ISIS
Also, the racket has extremist organizations’ associations since the investigations have found similar patterns of propaganda similar to ISIS, and associations with finance traces linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba. The Uttar Pradesh ATS and Special Task Force, along with other state police units, continue to probe the gang’s bigger international contacts and money trails.
This case has also raised concerns over abuse of democratic liberties and online networks for radicalization and extremist religious conversions, especially among children. Law enforcement agencies have further accelerated monitoring of social media and gaming platforms to prevent such cases and protect vulnerable youth.
Investigations are still ongoing with authorities exercising caution against exploitation by making use of online networks across borders, posing both security and social issues.
