Latest news with #JalaluddinShah
Mint
21-07-2025
- Mint
Chhangur Baba money laundering case: ED searches 15 locations, incriminating documents recovered
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday conducted search operations at multiple locations in connection with a money laundering case where an amulet seller from Meerut managed to build an empire worth over ₹ 100 crores. The probe agency conducted search operations at 15 locations in Balrampur, Lucknow, and Mumbai, related to a money laundering case against Chhangur Baba alias Jalaluddin Shah, his close associate Naveen Rohra, and others. Allegations against the former amulet seller include illegal conversion, use of foreign funds, and conspiring in activities that pose a potential threat to national security, an ED statement said. The searches were conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, (PMLA) 2002. 'During the search operations, various incriminating documents were recovered and seized, indicating the receipt of funds from abroad and their transfer to various individuals for acquiring immovable properties,' the ED statement added. Just a day ago, the Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested another accused in connection with the religious conversion syndicate allegedly led by Chhangur Baba. According to an ANI report, the accused, identified as Rajesh Kumar Upadhyay, was arrested on Saturday, officials said. The arrest comes days after Jalaluddin and his close aide, Naveen, the alleged masterminds of a covert network involved in religious conversions across Uttar Pradesh and beyond, were arrested from the state. According to UP Additional Director General (ADG) of Law and Order, Amitabh Yash, the gang operated for over 15 years and used a variety of manipulative tactics, including honey-trapping, administrative pressure, targeting minors, and enlisting influential individuals to facilitate conversions. "A significant amount of foreign funding has been traced to the gang," ADG Yash had told ANI earlier. 'Separate rate cards existed for different types of conversions, and the money was routed through nearly 40 bank accounts. The ATS is tracking the sources of these funds.' He further stated that any properties acquired using these funds would be seized and demolished as per legal provisions. "Chhangur Baba and his main associate, Neetu alias Nasreen, will be interrogated regarding their network, financial trail, and assets. The process to seize and demolish their illegally acquired properties has begun. All individuals against whom there is evidence have been arrested. Mohammed Ahmed is also named in the case, and further investigation is underway," he added. Chhangur Baba, 78, also known as Jalaluddin Shah, is accused of targeting girls from several communities and even maintained a 'rate list' for conversions, officials said. Chhangur is a term generally used for someone with six fingers. Jalaluddin is also said to have six fingers. Chhangur, who used to sell rings and amulets on his bicycle and later became the head of the village,is from Rehra Ma village in Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh. Later, he used to lure widowers by promising incentives, financial help, and even marriage for religious conversion.
Hindustan Times
12-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Chhangur Baba, associate interrogated: ‘Conversion nexus thrived by zeroing in on easy targets'
Startling revelations have emerged following the interrogation of Balrampur religious conversion nexus kingpin Jalaluddin Shah alias Chhangur Baba and his close associate Neetu Naveen Rohra alias Nasreen, senior police officials privy to the investigation said on Saturday. Balrampur religious conversion nexus kingpin Jalaluddin Shah alias Chhangur Baba (FILE PHOTO) For instance, people visiting 'dargahs' for fulfillment of wishes were easy targets for religious conversion, the officials added. The wishes of such people ranged from the desire to have children, cure long-term illness as well as achieve financial and professional growth, the officials further said. Besides, some Hindu women and families with liberal religious beliefs were also on the radar of the conversion nexus for gradually brainwashing them to convert to Islam, the officials added. Senior police officials confirmed that the two key accused in the conversion nexus case made similar disclosures during their interrogation since Thursday afternoon. Saturday was the duo's third day in police custody after a Lucknow court on Wednesday allowed their seven day police custody remand (PCR) to the UP ATS squad from Thursday (July 10) to July 16, the officials said. Investigators have discovered a list of similar followers maintained in registers by the kingpin and his associates, the officials added. An ATS official stated that the kingpin confessed to having around 5,000 followers with the same profile -- Hindu by birth and later embracing Islam after being brainwashed or through other different means. 'We are collecting details of similar cases with different backgrounds, educational and financial profiles,' he said. The case of the kingpin's close associate Neetu and her husband Naveen Rohra was a glaring one, the ATS official said. The Mumbai-based couple belonged to a rich Sindhi family and their visit to a dargah there made them vulnerable to religious conversion, the official said. He further said the couple met the kingpin there for the first time and later developed blind faith in him after becoming parents of a girl. 'Gradually, the couple, along with their minor child embraced Islam, and shifted base to Balrampur's Madhpur village, leaving their family business worth over ₹100 crore in 2015. The couple got involved in the religious conversion nexus of the kingpin,' he added. The official also said a Lucknow-based woman Gunja Gupta was lured into a relationship with a man, who introduced himself as Amit and gradually forced her to embrace Islam after taking her to an annual 'urs' to a Dargah in Balrampur around two years ago. He said Amit was originally Abu Ansari. 'Gunja Gupta recently returned to the Hindu fold after which Abu Ansari and two of his relatives, Dr Abu Saeed and Rakiba, were arrested in the matter,' the official said. Another ATS official said that one Aamir Khan was arrested from Faridabad, Haryana on Friday for dragging a Hindu girl for conversion to Islam after taking her to a dargah in Delhi. He said one Pintu Pandey converted to Islam after being brainwashed while a Brahmin woman of Balrampur was forced to embrace Islam after being threatened that she would be framed in a criminal case related to atrocities on Dalits.
Hindustan Times
11-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Who is Chhangur Baba? ED cracks down on ₹106 crore conversion racket 'kingpin' who once sold taweez in UP
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has stepped into the ongoing investigation against Jalaluddin Shah alias Chhangur Baba, who is accused of masterminding a large-scale religious conversion racket. Balrampur-based kingpin of illegal religious conversion racket Jalaluddin Shah alias Chhaangur Baba(X/@sanjoychakra) The preliminary findings by the probe agency point to a foreign funding of about ₹106 crore, mainly from the Middle East and illegal assets across states. Initial inputs by the ED indicate that Baba and his associates controlled around 40 bank accounts, allegedly used to receive hawala transactions and funds from Middle Eastern countries. On Wednesday, the ED's Lucknow zonal office registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), based on an FIR filed by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow. According to official sources cited by the news agency, ED is preparing to seek custodial remand of Changur Baba, whose real name is Karimulla Shah, to question him on alleged financial irregularities and foreign funding. Who is Changur Baba? The 78-year-old, who is popularly known as Changur Baba started as a taweez and gemstone seller travelling between villages on a bicycle. By 2015, he had reinvented himself as 'Peer Baba' or 'Hazrat Baba Jalaluddin', claiming to be a Sufi preacher. Also Read | From Balrampur to Pune, conversion kingpin, associates suspected to have amassed ₹300-crore properties A resident of Rehra Ma village in Balrampur, he used his rising influence to target vulnerable individuals, often widowers, with promises of support in exchange for conversion. His reach grew across Balrampur and the Indo-Nepal border region, eventually drawing attention from intelligence agencies. The name 'Changur' comes from his physical feature—six fingers on one hand—a trait that reportedly lent mystique to his image. 'Conversion factory' run from dargah A report by Hindustan Times, earlier cited investigators saying that Changur Baba operated his network from the Chand Auliya Dargah in Balrampur district, organising large religious gatherings attended by Indian and foreign nationals. 'Chhaangur Baba and his associates had travelled to different Islamic countries for over 50 times in the past few years,' a senior police official privy to the investigation said. Senior police officials revealed that Jalaluddin amassed a sprawling empire over the past decade. Properties were found in Balrampur (Uttar Pradesh), Pune (Maharashtra), and luxury vehicles linked to his name. One such property in Madhpur village, Balrampur—spread over three bighas and worth ₹3 crore—was demolished for being built illegally on gram sabha land. Through religious discourses, a book titled Shijra-e-Tayyaba, and psychological tactics, he promoted Islam while systematically inducing, coercing, and manipulating individuals of other faiths – 'particularly Hindus, Scheduled Castes, and economically disadvantaged persons – into religious conversion,' news agency PTI quoted official as saying. The ATS added that 'the poor, helpless labourers, weaker sections and widowed women were lured with incentives, financial aid, promises of marriage, or forced through intimidation.' ₹ 16 lakh for Brahmin girls Investigators discovered that the racket maintained a caste-based "rate list" for conversions. "The gang had fixed amounts for converting individuals from different castes including ₹15-16 lakh for Brahmin, Sardar, or Kshatriya girls, ₹10-12 lakh for OBC girls, and ₹8-10 lakh for girls from other castes,' an ATS officer said. In one such case, a woman named Gunja Gupta from Lucknow was allegedly lured into a relationship by an associate named Abu Ansari, who posed as 'Amit.' She was taken to Balrampur and later converted to Islam, adopting the name Aleena Ansari.
Hindustan Times
09-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Chhaangur Baba gained popularity as religious preacher in past 10 yrs
From selling gemstones for different 'astrological remedies' for people's problem on a bicycle while travelling from one village to another until 2015 to gaining popularity as Muslim religious preacher popular as 'Peer Baba' alias Hazrat Baba Jalaluddin, the Balrampur- based kingpin of illegal religious conversion racket, Jalaluddin Shah alias Chhaangur Baba came across a long way in the past one decade before landing in the net of UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on July 5, said senior police officials here on Tuesday. Balrampur- based kingpin of illegal religious conversion racket Jalaluddin Shah alias Chhaangur Baba They said the kingpin amassed multiple properties in Balrampur (Uttar Pradesh), Pune (Maharashtra) and a band of luxury vehicles in the past one decade. The officials said the sprawling property, located in Madhpur village under Uttaraula tehsil in Balrampur, which was demolished on Tuesday for being illegally constructed on gram sabha land was spread over nearly three bighas and estimated to be worth ₹3 crore. They said the property had extensive living facilities for over 50 people and was equipped with CCTV surveillance systems. They said the property was in the name of his close accomplice Neetu Naveen Rohra who, along with her husband Naveen Rohra, was allegedly brainwashed by the kingpin during his visit to Mumbai and brought to Balrampur where they adopted new identities of Nasreen and Jamaluddn respectively after embracing Islam. 'Moreover, the kingpin has formed as many as 40 different organisations and opened as many bank accounts in their names. The UP ATS investigation revealed the transactions of over ₹100 crore from these bank accounts in the past few years and they suspect foreign funding behind all these transactions,' a senior police official privy to the investigation said, adding, 'Chhaangur Baba and his associates had travelled to different Islamic countries for over 50 times in the past few years.' The cop said the kingpin of the racket amassed a fortune within a decade, with assets including properties, bungalows and luxury vehicles, suspected to have been funded through foreign sources. His fortunes changed after stints in Mumbai and Saudi Arabia, where he is believed to have built his network. He later set up an ashram near the shrine of Chandaulia Baba in Balrampur and developed links with influential officials, including police and administrative officers. The official said the investigation into the racket also unearthed links between the kingpin and a court clerk from Utraula. The clerk's wife was allegedly involved in a land deal worth ₹16 crore in Pune, with a profit-sharing clause. 'Although the clerk denied involvement initially, both his wife and he have been named as accused in the ongoing investigation,' he added. The official said the ATS is likely to report its findings to the Enforcement Directorate to probe the money laundering link involved in the case. He said the further investigation is likely to unravel several more facts and properties accumulated by allegedly operating an illegal religious conversion racket. On Saturday, Jalaluddin alias Chhaangur Baba along with Nasreen was arrested in connection with a case of alleged forced religious conversions registered under sections 121A, 153A, 417, and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 3, 5(1), 5(2), 5(3), and 8(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 at ATS police station in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow. Nasreen's husband and Jalaluddin's son Mehboob were arrested in the same case on April 8 earlier this year while efforts are on to arrest 14 more co-accused in the matter. The ATS officials said Chhaangur Baba claimed to be a Sufi saint and published a book called 'Shijar-e-Taiyya' to promote Islam. They said the racket allegedly lured poor and helpless individuals into converting to Islam by offering them financial incentives and threatening them with false cases. The gang also used love jihad tactics to convert Hindu girls to Islam. They said their nexus is spread across Balrampur and its adjoining districts across porous India-Nepal border. The racket allegedly lured individuals into converting to Islam, including a woman named Gunja Gupta from Lucknow who was brainwashed and converted to Islam by Chhaangur Baba's associates. They said Gunja Gupta was allegedly lured into a relationship by Abu Ansari, who used the alias 'Amit' to gain her trust. She was then taken to Chhaangur Baba where she was brainwashed and converted to Islam, taking the name Aleena Ansari. More rate for converting Brahmins, Kshatriya girls to Islam The ATS official said the gang had fixed amounts for converting individuals from different castes including ₹15-16 lakh for Brahmin, Sardar, or Kshatriya girls, ₹10-12 lakh for OBC girls, and ₹8-10 lakh for girls from other castes. Investigation after information about suspicious activities The ATS officials said the investigation into the matter was launched after receiving information about suspicious individuals, including Chhaangur Baba, Nasreen, Naveen alias Jamaluddin, and Mahboob, residing in Madhpur village of Balrampur district near the porous Nepal border, and purchasing properties worth crores of rupees allegedly funded through foreign funding.
Hindustan Times
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Religious conversion racket: Dist admn begins razing bungalow of kingpin, aides in Balrampur
The Balrampur administration initiated the demolition of a sprawling bungalow constructed on main Utraula-Mankapur Road, on Tuesday, after issuing three notices regarding illegal construction done on government land, local authorities confirmed. Jalaluddin Shah alias Chhangur Baba (HT File Photo) The move follows the arrest of Balrampur-based religious conversion racket kingpin, Jalaluddin Shah alias Chhangur Baba and his close accomplice, Neetu Naveen Rohra, alias Nasreen. The authorities said the action was taken in the presence of a heavy police force and administrative officials, with five bulldozers deployed for the operation. Balrampur additional SP Vishal Pandey said, 'The entire demolition process will take at least two - three days to complete. The demolition began today at 10 am and continued till late in the evening.' Meanwhile, barricading was done around the property to avoid locals gathering during the demolition process. The property, located in Madhpur village under Utraula tehsil, was built on Gram Sabha land listed as Gata number 337/370. 'Our government is fully committed to the dignity and security of our sisters and daughters. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the activities of the accused, Jalaluddin, are not only anti-social but also anti-national. The Uttar Pradesh government will not show any leniency in maintaining law and order. The properties of the accused and all the criminals associated with his gang will be confiscated, and strict legal action will be taken against them,' chief minister Yogi Adityanath posted on X on Tuesday, while reacting to the Balrampur action, adding, ' There is no place in the state for those who disrupt peace, harmony, and women's safety. They will be given such punishment according to the law that it will set an example for society'. The palatial bungalow, spread over nearly three bighas and estimated to be worth over ₹3 crore, had extensive living facilities for over 50 people and was equipped with CCTV surveillance systems. Moreover, iron fencing was done on the wall raised around the sprawling campus and electric current was run at night so that no one could breach the campus. The notice stated that the property was in the name of Neetu Naveen Rohra, wife of Naveen Rohra. A senior police official said that Neetu alias Nasreen was arrested along with Jalaluddin Shah by UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Saturday in connection with the case registered under sections 121A, 153A, 417, and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 3, 5(1), 5(2), 5(3), and 8(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 in October 2024. He said Neetu alias Nasreen and her husband Naveen Rohra alias Jamaluudin and their minor daughter, who were originally Sindhis, were residents of Mumbai and they shifted to Balrampur after embracing Islam a few years ago. Naveen Rohra was arrested by UP ATS on charges of religious conversion on April 8 earlier this year. 'Three notices were issued to Neetu Naveen Rohra by the office of Utraula Tehsildar, Satyapal Prajapati. The first notice was issued on May 17, the second notice was issued on June 17 and the third notice was served on July 7 (Monday). The demolition process on encroachment was initiated on Tuesday after getting no reply from the illegal occupants,' said Balrampur district magistrate (DM), Pawan Agarwal. Balrampur superintendent of police (SP), Vikas Kumar, said the police force has been asked to remain on alert to avert any possible trouble by supporters of Chhangur Baba.
