Lucknow, Feb 13 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Monday arrested four members of the 'Halal Council of India' for allegedly extorting money under the guise of halal certification.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Maulana Mudassir, Habib Yusuf Patel, Mohd Anwar Khan, and Mohammed Tahir.

The STF also recovered four Aadhar cards, four PAN cards, three mobile phones, four ATM cards, three driving licenses, two voter cards, and cash worth Rs 21,820 from their possession.

According to police, the Halal Council of India used to charge Rs 10,000 per certificate while it had no authority to issue such certificates.

The police said that illegal collections were made under the guise of providing such certification and the STF is probing into the utilisation of these funds.

'Halal certification' is usually considered as an assurance that a product adheres to Islamic principles. The Uttar Pradesh government in November 2023 imposed a ban on the "manufacture, sale, storage, and distribution of halal-certified products" within the state.