In a dramatic nighttime showdown in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur district, police engaged in a fierce gun battle with a notorious criminal linked to forced religious conversions and blackmail at a local gym. The suspect, identified as Farid, was captured after sustaining a leg injury during the exchange of fire on Wednesday evening.
Farid had been a prime target for months, with multiple cases registered against him for allegedly using the gym as a front for coercive religious conversions, sexual exploitation, and extortion. Acting on precise intelligence from informants, a police team from Dehat Kotwali station cornered him at Khadanja Fall in the rural outskirts.
Spotting the approaching officers, Farid opened fire indiscriminately, prompting a measured retaliatory response from the law enforcers. A bullet struck his leg, neutralizing the immediate threat and allowing for his swift apprehension. He was rushed to the Trauma Center for medical attention, where he remains under custody and treatment.
This arrest marks the fifth in an ongoing probe that has exposed a sinister operation centered around the KGN Gym in Sadar Tehsil Colony. Two women had come forward with harrowing accounts of being lured into romantic relationships under false pretenses by gym trainers, only to face pressure to convert religions, endure sexual assault, and be blackmailed with compromising videos for money.
Police have sealed four gym branches implicated in the racket and previously jailed the gym owner along with three other accomplices. Investigations continue to uncover the full network, with assurances from authorities that all involved parties will soon face justice.
Local Hindu Jagraran Manch coordinator Keshavwani highlighted the gym’s decade-long operations across multiple branches, claiming long-standing suspicions of ‘love jihad’ activities. The revelations followed outreach to affected families, amplifying calls for stringent action against the perpetrators.