Thane: A 23-year-old man was apprehended from Maharashtra’s Alibaug on Sunday by police officials on charges of converting children to Islam through online games. The accused, identified as Shahnawaz Maksood Khan, a resident of Mumbra, allegedly targeted children who played the popular game ‘Fortnite’ using the digital pseudonym ‘Baddo’.

Shahnawaz Khan, the prime suspect in the alleged online gaming and religious conversion racket, was tracked down to Worli in Mumbai before being arrested in Alibaug by the Mumbra Police on Sunday night. The Ghaziabad Police sought the assistance of the Mumbra Police after Khan’s involvement in the case came to light, leading to a joint operation to apprehend him. However, Khan managed to escape along with his mother and brother.

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An India Today report citing sources claimed that the Thane Police had sought the help of the Mumbai Police, but by the time they intervened, Shahnawaz Khan had already changed his location and fled to Alibaug. Following a tip-off that Khan had been hiding in Alibaug since Saturday morning, the Mumbra Police conducted overnight raids on several lodges in the area. With the assistance of the Alibaug Police, Khan was eventually taken into custody.

During the investigation, Khan admitted that he initially contacted the victim, a boy, through Fortnite in early 2021. They subsequently exchanged mobile numbers and began communicating on the Discord feature within the game, eventually forming a friendship. Later, the victim switched from Fortnite to the game Valorent, and the two stayed connected on the gaming platform until December 2021.

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It was during a gameplay session at the target location, Ice Box, that the duo had their first conversation about religious conversion. They discussed the speech of televangelist Zakir Naik. As part of the operation, a mobile phone, an iPad, and a computer were seized from Khan’s residence, which he used to access the gaming app. Authorities are currently scrutinising his WhatsApp and Instagram accounts.

An FIR was filed against Khan under the jurisdiction of the Kavi Nagar police station in Ghaziabad on May 30. The victim’s family had identified the suspect’s digital persona as ‘Baddo’. Upon tracking his location, the real identity of the accused was revealed to be Shahnawaz Maqsood Khan, a 23-year-old resident of Thane.

A second suspect, identified as a Maulvi from Ghaziabad, was also implicated in the case. The accused duo reportedly converted one Jain and two Hindu boys. Their modus operandi involved using the Fortnite app to bring their targets onto a common platform while assuming a Hindu identity to interact with them.