Picture of Prasana Diksa who was abducted by her convert father Muhammad Riduan Abdullah. — Picture by Farhan Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — The Muslim Scholars Association of Malaysia (PUM) has urged the police today to stop pursuing the fugitive ex-husband of M. Indira Gandhi and her youngest daughter that he abducted nine years ago.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the group warned that religious sectarian violence may erupt in this country if the police continue to hunt Muhammad Riduan Abdullah and Prasana Diksa.

“We ask for the kind consideration of the police to not hunt the father and the children until a solution can be found.

“We are concerned that if it is carried out, there is a possibility of conflict between religious adherents in this country that may spark violence in society,” its president Datuk Abdul Halim Abd Kadir said.

After the landmark ruling, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun has pledged that the police will continue hunting down Muhammad Riduan.

He said the police are confident that the convert is still in the country, but they lack any leads to find him.

The statement that was posted on PUM’s Facebook page that has since been taken down.

PUM also urged that the children unilaterally converted into Islam by Muhammad Riduan must not be allowed to revert back to Hinduism.

Indira’s two elder children, Tevi Darsiny, 20, and Karan Dinish, 19, told Malay Mail they can now proudly declare their Hindu identity after their conversion that was done without their mother’s consent was nullified by the Federal Court.

On April 2, 2009, K. Pathmanathan, or Muhammad Riduan Abdullah as he is now known, had covertly converted his three children to Islam without their knowledge and without Indira’s consent, before going to the Shariah court just a few days later to obtain custody rights for them. The Shariah court only has jurisdiction over Muslims.

Indira had in May 2016 told Malay Mail however that both her elder children have been practising Hindus since birth, with their identity cards still carrying the names they were born with and stating their religious status as Hindu.

PUM had also requested the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to allow the group to advise in matters involving conversion to Islam.

It also demanded Putrajaya to act fast, claiming the issue would embolden provocateurs in the country.