GG News Bureau
Ballia/Lucknow, 13th July: A major religious conversion racket allegedly run by Jamaluddin alias Chhangur Baba has been unearthed by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), which revealed on Saturday that the accused used a series of coded terms like “project”, “mitti palatna”, “kajal lagana”, and “darshan” to carry out conversions—mostly of women—by luring, deceiving or threatening them.
While “project” referred to the women targeted, “mitti palatna” meant religious conversion. “Kajal lagana” signified manipulation, and “darshan” was the point at which victims were introduced to Chhangur Baba himself.
The revelations come amid a parallel probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which disclosed that 18 out of 40 bank accounts linked to the accused witnessed transactions worth ₹68 crore. In just three months, ₹7 crore was deposited into these accounts, most of it suspected to be foreign funding from Middle Eastern countries.
Chhangur Baba, once a roadside seller of rings and amulets, rose to become a village head in Balrampur district bordering Nepal. He was arrested on July 5 along with his aide Neetu alias Nasreen. A non-bailable warrant had been issued against him and a ₹50,000 cash reward was declared for information leading to his arrest.
According to the STF, the gang’s modus operandi involved promising victims money, jobs, foreign travel, or marriage in exchange for converting their religion. In many cases, the conversions were coerced through threats.
On Saturday, a 16-year-old girl from Faridabad came forward, alleging she was lured by Aamir Hussain under the pretext of love and taken to meet Chhangur Baba at Delhi’s Nizamuddin Dargah. There, she was allegedly asked to offer namaz and pressured to marry Hussain after converting to Islam. The accused even gave her an amulet, asking her to drink water infused with it to “change her destiny”. Aamir Hussain has since been arrested.
Another victim, Sanjeet Kumar, who worked as a sweeper at Chhangur Baba’s premises, claimed he was threatened after refusing to convert despite being promised wealth. “When I refused, he told me I’d be shot because he had already spent a lot on me,” Kumar said, adding he fled the place in fear.
Meanwhile, ED officials confirmed that global donations were traced in the accounts, and documents suggest total deposits worth ₹106 crore across 40 bank accounts. Investigators suspect most of this came from Islamic countries in the Middle East. Authorities are now examining Chhangur Baba’s income tax records.
Reacting to the developments, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the “initial probe” suggests the accused’s actions are “not only against society but also against the nation.”
The case has stirred concerns about organized conversion networks operating under religious and social pretenses, with both the STF and ED intensifying their joint investigation into the broader funding channels and ideological motivations behind the racket.
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