Pramod Patil (name changed) was only 23 years old when he was pursuing a diploma in Electric Engineering in a college in Beed district in 2009.
He got curious about Islam and after meeting a group of friends; he began asking his fellow mates more and more about the religion and started learning Arabic and Urdu to understand the faith.
Hailing from a conservative Hindu family, Patil and his curious questions about Islam were not entertained at home and he was chastised, as per mid- day reports.
Therefore in 2012, he left his cellphone at home and logged out of all social media sites and set off for Ahmedabad where he embraced Islam. From then on he is called as Umar.
He took up residence in a madrassa in Ahmedabad. A year later, Umar moved to a madrassa in Uttar Pradesh, where he taught Science, Mathematics and English to the students for two years before coming back to Ahmedabad.
During his second stint to Gujarat, he was wheedled by radical. He was told that Allah had summoned him for Jihad and also offered marriage alliances to entice him into the network.
“People kept trying to brainwash me every day and I saw them do that to many youth as well. I had started wearing kurta pyjama and also kept a long beard.”
“I was too involved in studying and learning to realise that I was being used. In 2015 I moved to Pune and started living in Kondhwa.”
He gathered courage and in September 2015 met his family.
He was called by the ATS in October 2015, and with the help of maulanas and Islamic clerics, he was made to understand the difference between the truth and the radical path.
With his knowledge of Arabic and Urdu, Umar now helps screen and translate suspicious material, both printed and online, whenever the ATS calls upon him.