Jalaluddin Shah, widely known as Chhangur Baba, was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on July 5 in Balrampur district, near the India-Nepal border, as the alleged mastermind behind a large-scale illegal religious conversion racket.
He and his close associates, including his wife Neetu alias Nasreen, her husband Jamaluddin alias Naveen Rohra, and his son Mehboob, face multiple charges under the Indian Penal Code and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, for coercing and luring Hindu women and others into converting to Islam through financial incentives, threats, and deception.
Rs 106 crore bank transactions
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched a detailed investigation into Chhangur Baba’s extensive financial network, uncovering over Rs 106 crore in suspicious bank transactions across nearly 40 accounts linked to NGOs and associates, with suspected foreign funding from Gulf countries.
The probe also revealed a property empire valued at over Rs 300 crore, including luxury vehicles, bungalows, and more than three dozen properties across Uttar Pradesh and Pune, Maharashtra. Among these is a Rs 16 crore land deal in Pune whose current market value exceeds Rs 200 crore, involving alleged accomplices such as a court clerk and his wife.
Authorities demolished properties
In Balrampur, authorities demolished a fortified three-bigha compound in Madhpur village that served as the nerve center of the operation and was illegally constructed on government land. The Uttar Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, condemned the racket as “anti-national” and pledged to seize all properties linked to Chhangur Baba and his network, promising strict legal action.
The investigation remains active, with ATS pursuing 14 more accused and the ED probing money laundering and violations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). This case exposes a complex nexus of religious conversion, financial crimes, and exploitation, marking one of the largest such scandals in recent Uttar Pradesh history.