Lucknow, Jun 29 (IANS): Three more persons have been arrested in connection with the alleged religious conversion of more than a thousand people across the country.

The accused, arrested on Monday, have been identified as Mannu Yadav a.k.a. Abdul Mannan, Irfan Sheikh and Rahul Bhola.

According to UP ADG Law and Order, Prashant Kumar, during the investigation, it was found that funding for the alleged religious conversion was coming from abroad.

He said nearly Rs 1.70 crore transferred in the accounts has been trailed.

"This money has come between 2010 and June 2021. Money has been transferred in the accounts through cash and cheque. Rs 50 lakh has been deposited in accounts from Dubai, Qatar, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi," the ADG said.

"The role of three religious leaders was found suspicious in the conversion case. The Anti-Terror Squad is interrogating them," he said.

"During the investigation, it was found that one of these leaders had also been in contact with Mohammad Umar Gautam, who was arrested earlier and is lodged in jail. Mohammad Umar had taken this religious leader several times with him to Halim Muslim College, where deaf students were brainwashed," he said.

The three leaders are also accused of collecting funds for organising protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizen (NRC).

The senior police official said the interrogation of Umar Gautam and Jahangir Alam, arrested in the case of conversion, is still continuing. "Omar's network is being claimed to be spread in 24 states across the country," the ADG stated.

Meanwhile, chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the officials to probe the case thoroughly and take action.