Udaipur murder: Probe sought into operations of Dawat-e-Islami branches in India

LUCKNOW: A Kanpur connection to the Udaipur killing has emerged after the links of Ghouse Mohammad, one of the assailants of Kanhaiya Lal, have reportedly been established with a Pakistan-based Islamic outfit  Dawat-e-Islami.

As per the sources, the outfit has three centres in India and one of them is in Kanpur with over 50,000 followers. The other two are in New Delhi and Mumbai.

In Kanpur, the centre of Dawat-e- Islami is situated in a mosque at Deputy Padav Gurbatullah Park. Its role had come under the scanner of law enforcement agencies during the anti-CAA protests in 2019.

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The president of the Kanpur chapter of the Sufi Khanqah Association, Mohammad Kausar Hasan Majeedi, has sought a probe into the operations of Dawat-e-Islami in Kanpur. 

Majeedi claimed that Dawat-e-Islami radicalized the Muslim youths and motivated them for Jihad. The outfit was in news earlier also as Sufi Khanqah Association, a social organization having branches across the country,  had levelled charges of conversions against it last year. 

“The outfit indulged in the conversion of non-Muslims living in Islamic Gulf countries. More than a dozen videos promoting Islamic fundamentalism were also released by us to justify claims," said Majeedi.

Moreover, Dawat-e-Islami had collected massive funds in the form of donation by putting donation boxes at the crossings in Muslim-dominated areas of Kanpur. 

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Later, after the charges of using funds for anti-national activities, the outfit had removed the donation boxes.

The sources claimed that a delegation of Pakistani Ulema had come to Kanpur in 1989. After this, a centre of the outfit was set up in Kanpur. The sources also claimed that basically, the outfit had the role of imparting 'Deeni Talim' to the believers of Islam besides popularizing Islam and publishing Islamic religious books.

According to Majeedi, the Kanpur centre of Dawat-e-Islami had the role of reaching out to the Muslim youths of eastern UP and Bihar and radicalising them for Jihad.

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The Association members, seeking anonymity, also claimed that they were receiving threats from Pakistan as they had been opposing the activities of Dawat-e-Islami. The Sufi Khanqah Association members said that they had reported the matter to DCP Raveen Tyagi seeking security.

On the other, the police sources said that after getting the inputs from Udaipur, it was being investigated if both assailants of Udaipur killing had come to Kanpur before the incident. Now the Kanpur police have started searching for the members of the organization operating in the city.

Kanpur Police Commissioner Vijay Singh Meena also called an emergency meeting for diving deep into the activities of Dawat-e-Islami as soon as he got the input from Udaipur.

The Kanpur police authorities created a city security plan with instructions to authorities concerned to increase police guard on sensitive areas. Intelligence and IB were also put on high alert.
Moreover, the police department is tracing the people associated with this organization who came under the scanner during anti-CAA stir and their numbers would be put on surveillance. A strict vigil was also being maintained on social media posts, said a senior police official of Kanpur.