Mirzapur (UP), March 14 Police on Saturday arrested two more people, including a wanted accused carrying a reward of Rs 25,000, in connection with an illegal religious conversion racket allegedly operating under the guise of gyms here.
With these fresh arrests, the total number of people arrested in the case has reached 10.
Addressing a press conference here, Superintendent of Police (SP) Aparna Rajat Kaushik said the two wanted men were arrested by a team from the Mirzapur Dehat area based on a tip-off.
The arrested persons have been identified as Ashfaq Khan alias Lucky Khan, a resident of Mirzapur who carried a bounty of Rs 25,000, and Sahil Ahmed, from Kaimur district in Bihar.
"Eight accused had already been arrested in two separate cases related to illegal conversion. Continuing the crackdown, our teams led by the additional SP (city) and circle officer Sadar arrested two more absconding accused on Saturday," the SP said.
The racket, which has been dubbed "Gym Jihad", first came to light on January 20 after two women filed complaints at the Dehat Kotwali police station. Subsequent investigations led to the sealing of four gyms across the city.
Police officials noted that while a large number of women frequented these facilities, the management had not appointed any female trainers, which raised suspicion regarding the activities being conducted there.
After the initial revelations, four specialised police teams were constituted to probe the matter. The arrested accused have been produced before a court and sent to jail, police added.