Online Gaming Nightmare: Ghaziabad Police Expose Conversion Racket Targeting Teens

 

In a major breakthrough, the Ghaziabad police have uncovered an online conversion racket that employed a disturbing modus operandi, exploiting online games to ensnare unsuspecting victims. Collaborating with an individual based in Mumbai, a man was apprehended by the police for orchestrating this syndicate.

The accused individuals specifically targeted children and teenagers through an online gaming app, alluring them with the prospect of converting to Islam. The arrest of a Maulvi from a mosque in the Sanjay Nagar area of Ghaziabad shed light on this disconcerting practice, while the second accused, a man from Thane in Maharashtra, remains at large.

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Providing further details, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Nipun Agarwal stated, "On May 30, a case of religious conversion was registered at Kavi Nagar Police Station, naming Shahnawaz Khan alias Baddo, a resident of Thane, Maharashtra, and Nanni alias Abdul Rehman, a Maulvi at a mosque in Sanjay Nagar. Rehman has been apprehended, and during the investigation, his involvement in the conversion of a minor Jain boy and two Hindu boys was discovered. Electronic evidence and affidavits related to the case have been seized."

The perpetrators employed a sinister approach to manipulate their teenage targets. They enticed them with an online game that required the recitation of Quranic verses in order to win. Moreover, the victims were exposed to videos featuring radical Muslim preachers Zakir Naik and Tariq Jameel. Zakir Naik, a notorious figure facing numerous charges of money laundering and spreading hatred, fled the country in 2016.

Explaining the communication methods employed by the accused, DCP Ghaziabad City stated, "The accused communicated with the young gamers through a chat application, where they were shown videos of Zakir Naik and Tariq Jameel to persuade them to convert."

While this recent incident in Ghaziabad has shed light on this unsettling modus operandi, similar tactics have also been observed in cases of human trafficking. The increasing number of such incidents underscores the urgent need for stricter regulations to combat these digital threats. Authorities should consider implementing laws or systems that require government-issued IDs to create social media accounts, thereby ensuring the verification of users' identities. Specific legislation targeting catfishing, a common issue in online dating, is also necessary.

The process of religious conversion through online games often starts with the same deceptive techniques employed in catfishing. Many apps allow users to sign in using existing profiles such as Facebook and Gmail, which do not provide any verification of the person behind the profile. Perpetrators create profiles on popular gaming apps and select targets based on their behavior, often choosing impressionable young adults who spend a significant amount of time on gaming apps and are open to interacting with strangers.

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Once casual conversations related to the game are initiated, the miscreants gain the trust of their targets by sharing winning strategies, cheat codes, and claiming to possess foolproof methods for success. As relationships develop within the game through team formations and adding friends, the perpetrators encourage communication via messaging apps like WhatsApp. Group chats are established to coordinate gaming sessions, eventually resembling regular social groups where participants share various content, including vulgar jokes, pirated media, and extremist material.

Once contact information is exchanged, the perpetrators exploit one-on-one conversations to assess the targets' family dynamics. If the parents are perceived as uninvolved or overprotective, the miscreants continue their manipulation. Gradually, discussions steer towards violence, glory, and the importance of religious piety, often accompanied by fabricated stories of personal tragedies involving the miscreant's acquaintances. The conversation is directed towards contentious topics like the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Source: https://www.the420.in/online-gaming-nightmare-ghaziabad-police-expose-conversion-racket-targeting-teens/



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