The arrest of Maulana Jalaluddin alias Chhangur Baba in connection with a religious conversion racket has exposed how deeply this problem is rooted. Baba was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorist Squad after it was found that he ran a massive conversion racket and minted money in crores.

Preliminary investigations showed that Chhangur Baba and his associates were involved in illegal conversion activities only in UP. However, as the probe progressed, it was found that Baba and his aides were involved in similar activities in Uttarakhand as well. The probe has found that Chhangur Baba and his associates had set up a huge network whereby women would be trapped and then converted.

They used social media platforms such as Instagram to post religious content through which these women would be brainwashed. These issues came to light following the arrest of Abdul Rehman from Dehradun and Abu Taleb from Muzaffarnagar. They allegedly trapped two women through posts on social media.

During their questioning, they revealed that they would first establish casual contact with young women. Over time, the women would be exposed to religious content, and this is when the propaganda and brainwashing would begin. The accused would mostly target vulnerable women who have financial constraints or family problems. These accused would offer them emotional support and also promise them financial benefits. However, all this was subject to the condition that they would convert.

One of the accused in the case, Abdul Rehman, is said to have been involved in this racket for a long time. He has been living in Dehradun for nearly ten years and operated under the name Rupendra Yadav. During interrogation of the accused, it was found that a love jihad wing was being headed by one Rashid, a resident of Balrampur in UP. He was entrusted with running this wing. The men working under him were tasked with identifying vulnerable women and then getting them to convert.

The police learnt that the specific targets were the Scheduled Castes, vulnerable Hindu women and girls, and the economically backward. Some of the victims trapped had health issues, and they were promised that once they converted, their health issues would be gone. With the busting of this racket, more women have been approaching the police seeking action.

Earlier this month, a man from Uttar Pradesh accused Chhangur Baba of brainwashing him. He told the police that he was threatened that his two daughters would be killed if he did not convert.

The complainant, Jyotirgmay Rai (35), said that he had married a woman called Ishita through an Arya Samaj ceremony. He later realised that her real name was Afreen. He said that they have two daughters, and after the marriage of the second one, he was being pressured to convert. This case does not restrict itself to India alone. The Enforcement Directorate is probing the massive money trail.

The case that has been registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) says that this syndicate has received funds to the tune of Rs 106 crore, mainly from the Middle East. This gang has been in operation for nearly 15 years now and may have converted hundreds of people, the police suspect.

The UP ATS during its probe found that the syndicate headed by Chhangur Baba and his associate Neetu alias Nasreen operated 40 different bank accounts. The money coming in from abroad would be deposited in these accounts. The UP administration has started demolishing the illegally procured properties by this syndicate. The money coming in from abroad was used to purchase these properties.

-IANS

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The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on 5 July 2025 arrested Jamaluddin alias Chhangur Baba, the alleged mastermind of a large-scale illegal religious conversion racket, along with his wife Neetu alias Nasreen. The duo, residents of Madhpur village in Balrampur district, was taken into custody and produced before a court, following which they were remanded and sent to Lucknow District Jail.

According to an official statement, a non-bailable warrant had been issued against Jamaluddin by a local court, and a reward of ₹50,000 had been declared on his arrest. The arrests are the latest in a continuing investigation into an organised network accused of forcibly or fraudulently converting individuals from Hindu and other non-Muslim communities to Islam.

The case has been registered at Gomtinagar Police Station in Lucknow under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2021. The FIRs allege that poor labourers, women from weaker sections, widows, and minors were targeted and converted using inducements such as financial assistance, marriage promises, or coercion, in violation of prescribed legal procedures.

Fake Identities, A Sufi Persona

Investigators revealed that Jamaluddin, aged 70, along with his wife and daughter, originally hailed from Mumbai and had converted to Islam in Dubai in November 2015. The family, comprising Ghanshyam Rohera, his wife Neetu, and their daughter Samale, adopted the Islamic names Jamaluddin, Nasreen, and Sabiha respectively.

After their return, the trio settled near Chand Auliya Dargah in Balrampur, where Jamaluddin began identifying himself as a Sufi saint under the name “Hazrat Baba Jamaluddin Peer Baba.” Despite having converted to Islam, the family reportedly retained Hindu identities on all official Indian documents, including passports, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and property records.

Jamaluddin also published a book titled Shijra-e-Tayyaba to propagate Islam and support his spiritual persona.

Network of Coercion, Romantic Traps, and Financial Incentives

According to the ATS, Jamaluddin ran an organised gang involved in mass religious conversions across multiple districts. The racket allegedly used romantic entrapment, psychological coercion, and monetary inducements to lure individuals, particularly Hindu women, into converting to Islam. In one documented case, a woman from Lucknow was allegedly deceived by a Muslim man who posed as a Hindu and was subsequently coerced by Neetu and others into converting.

The ATS disclosed that the gang had a structured incentive system for conversions based on caste. As per statements made by officers, ₹15–16 lakh was allotted for converting Brahmin, Sikh, or Kshatriya women; ₹10–12 lakh for OBC women; and ₹8–10 lakh for women from other castes. These operations were allegedly funded by foreign sources.

Foreign Funding and Travel Links

A financial audit of the gang’s activities uncovered foreign inflows amounting to over ₹100 crore into 40 different bank accounts. The funds were reportedly used to facilitate conversions, pay agents, and purchase properties and luxury items.

The investigation found that members of the gang had travelled to Islamic countries approximately 40 times, suggesting deep international connections and possible external ideological or financial support.

Prior to Saturday’s arrests, two other accused, Naveen alias Jamaluddin and Mehboob, the son of the main accused, were arrested on 8 April 2025. Both are also from Balrampur and are currently lodged in Lucknow District Jail.

Following a complaint by a local resident, Arvind Kumar of Madhpur village, about suspicious activities, the Special Task Force (STF) initiated a probe. The ATS subsequently took over, registering a case against ten individuals, including Jamaluddin, under charges relating to illegal conversions, cheating, criminal conspiracy, and financial fraud.

Multiple FIRs have been lodged in various districts of Uttar Pradesh in connection with the racket. A diary recovered from Jamaluddin’s residence reportedly contained names of over 100 potential targets for future conversions.

Lavish Lifestyle Funded by Conversion Racket

Officials stated that Jamaluddin had previously sold rings for a living but amassed enormous wealth within a short span through the conversion racket. He allegedly purchased properties worth crores, built showrooms and bungalows, and acquired luxury cars. He had been residing in the Balrampur property for the past 3–4 years, which originally belonged to the Hindu family that later converted and changed their identities.

Multi-Agency Probe Sought

Given the scale, international funding, and communal sensitivity of the case, the Uttar Pradesh Police have sought a multi-agency probe involving the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to investigate both the religious and financial aspects of the racket.

ATS officials indicated that the investigation is ongoing and that further arrests and asset seizures may follow based on the contents of the recovered diary and other electronic and financial records.

(With inputs from OpIndia)

The post UP ATS Arrests Jamaluddin, Mastermind Of ₹100-Crore Conversion Racket; Foreign Funding, Fake Identities, Caste-Based Targets Unearthed appeared first on The Commune.

Three more Islamic proselytizers involved in religious conversion racket in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh have been arrested by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS).

Inspector-General of Police, ATS, Gajendra Kumar Goswami, said that names of these three surfaced during questioning of accused cleric Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, who allegedly ran the biggest conversion syndicate across the country.

“We have arrested Idris Qureshi, Saleem, and Kunal Ashok a.k.a Atif from Lucknow on Sunday,” he said.

Maulana Kaleem was arrested on September 22 and currently, he is on a 10-day custody remand and during interrogation, he revealed that apart from Rs 1.5 crores illegally routed through Bahrain and Rs 3 crore from other Gulf nations, a sum of Rs 20 crore has been received by the trusts operated by him which is in violation of the foreign act.

It was also revealed that one of the arrested members Atif got in touch with Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui when he was taking the Medical Council of India(MCI) examination and had converted to Islam during his medical studies while living in Russia.

Also, Atif was running a medical clinic in Nashik illegally after he failed to pass the MCI examination, a necessary certification to practice medicine in India for those who studied medicine abroad.

The IG further said that accused Idris Qureshi collected funds for the last 20 years for Jamiatul Imam Waliullah Al Islamiyya Madrasa run by Kaleem Siddiqui and is also active in the operation of the madrasa.

“Evidence so far has confirmed that under the guise of a social harmony programme, a syndicate of illegal conversions was being operated by the accused,” said the official.

Others who are now in the crosshairs of the police include Noida sign language interpreter Irfan Sheikh, Munna Yadav, and Rahul Bhola. Gujarat businessman Salahuddin Zainuddin and a Maharashtra doctor Firoz Shah.

Earlier, the ATS had busted the illegal conversion racket in June with the arrest of Umar Gautam a Hindu convert to Islam and his accomplice Mufti Kazi Jahangir Qasmi, and later its Nagpur syndicate was busted with the arrest of Rameshwar Kawre a.k.a Adam, Qausar Alam, and Bhuriya Bando a.k.a. Arslan Mustafa.

In order to spread the religion of Islam, the Islamists had devised a sinister plan to first convert the hearing and speech impaired children and then use them as human bombs.

It has also now emerged that Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi and Mohammad Umar Gautam had received funding from Pakistan’s notorious spy agency ISI and other global sources.

The duo was based out of Delhi’s Jamia Nagar which is known as a hotbed of Jihadi activity and coercively converted around 1000 people to Islam by specifically targeting the deaf and mute individuals along with women and children for the same.

After the arrest of these individuals by the ATS, the Enforcement Directorate has now registered a case to look into foreign funding and money laundering angles in this racket.

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Feature Image courtesy: OpIndia

After the Uttar Pradesh Anti Terror Squad (ATS) arrested three men for planning terror activities, the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) said on Wednesday (14 July) it will provide legal help to them.

The UP ATS had arrested Shakeel, 35, Mohd Mustaqeem, 44, and Mohd Moid, 29 for planning terror attacks in the state, particularly in Lucknow. However, now the JUH has said that the family members of the accused have sought legal help following which JUH President Arshad Madani alleged that the security agencies have been targeting Muslim youth.

He alleged that the police have arrested hundreds of youths without any proof who then have been let off by the courts and the JUH will fight their cases and demanded the case be tried in a fast-track court.

The JUH will not provide legal assistance to two terrorists, linked to Al Qaeda who were arrested from the outskirts of Lucknow on Sunday. After the arrest, the ATS found two pressure-cooker bombs, a detonator, and 6 to 7 kilograms of explosives were recovered from the house.

The arrested men as per the ATS planning to target a BJP MP and some senior BJP leaders in Lucknow.

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Acting on a tip-off, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested two terrorists, linked to Al Qaeda, from Kakori on the outskirts of Lucknow on Sunday (July 11).

After receiving the intelligence input, the ATS team was tracking the terror cell for one week, and later a team led by IG ATS, G K Goswami led an operation and arrested the two from a house that belongs to one Shahid.

After the raid, the ATS recovered two pressure-cooker bombs, a detonator, and 6 to 7 kilograms of explosives as a bomb disposal squad evacuated the area.

Due to the sensitivity of the operation, the ATS  did not disclose the names of the arrested persons as the case is further investigated.

However, preliminary investigations have revealed that the two terrorists were planning to target a BJP MP and some senior BJP leaders in Lucknow.

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After the Uttar Pradesh anti-terrorist squad (ATS) arrested two Islamic clerics who ran the ‘Islamic Dawah Center’ in Delhi who has been of mass religious conversion racket a new development has emerged that has national security implications.

The accused Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi and Mohammad Umar Gautamware had devised a sinister plan to first convert the hearing and speech impaired children into Islam and then use them as human suicide bombers in the name of Islamic Jihad, reports Dainik Jagran.

Also, there are reports that Qasmi and Umar Gautam received funding from Pakistan’s spy agency the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), and other global sources. Both lived in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar and using coercive tactics converted around 1000 people to Islam and especially targeting deaf and mute individuals along with women and children for the same.

A senior official said, both Islamists wanted to brainwash these children into accepting Islam and later use them as human bombs in India and around the world in the name of Islam and Jihad.

The conversion gang is said to have targeted people in Noida, Varanasi, Mathura, and Kanpur. Earlier, the UP ATS had arrested the said individuals following the registration of an FIR in the case at Lucknow’s ATS police station.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar had stated that Gautam, who is himself a convert to Islam from Hinduism, boasted to the police of having converted at least 1,000 people to Islam, luring them with marriage, money, and jobs.

“I converted at least 1,000 non-Muslims to Islam, marrying them all to Muslims,” Kumar quoted Gautam as saying.

According to the ADG, the ATS had been working on the intelligence inputs that some people were getting funds from the ISI and other foreign agencies for converting poor people to Islam and spreading communal enmity in the society.

As of now, both Jihadists have been booked under the Gangster Act and National Security Act (NSA).

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