Chhangur Baba conversion racket: How did Jamaluddin accumulate Rs 106 crore? Money poured in from Middle East Muslim countries as...

It may be called a "success story" of its kind. A "rags-to-riches" story! A man who used to sell amulets and rings on his bicycle from village to village under scorching sun and monsoon rains, now boasts of a bank balance of more than Rs 106 crore, deposited in more than 40 accounts, besides real estate property worth crores of rupees in UP and Maharashtra. Jamaluddin or Chhangur Baba enchanted Muslims, particularly the newly converted ones, so that they poured millions of dollars from the Middle East countries into his accounts in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Many high-profile technocrats and bureaucrats may be envious of this semi-educated man from a nondescript village of Rehra Mafi. After all, he has built an empire of his own, a conversion empire based on deceit, forgery and misleading the subalterns. 

UP ATS arrests Jamaluddin alias Chhangur Baba 

However, it came to an end last week when the UP Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Jamaluddin alias Chhangur Baba, his close associate Neetu alias Nasreen and others in connection with the conversion racket. The ATS filed an FIR at Lucknow's Gomtinagar police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2021. Soon, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) became active and launched a probe under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). 

According to media reports, Nasreen received Rs 13.9 crore in his Bank of Baroda account in four months. Besides, another member of the racket Ghanshyam Rohera got over Rs 34 crore in two separate bank accounts.

Chhangur Baba's properties

Jamaluddin alias Chhangur Baba built a building next to a shrine in Madhpur in Balrampur district. Now, the administration says that the building is illegal and it has been constructed on government land. It was demolished using a bulldozer by the district authorities on Wednesday. It had two sections, one of which was occupied by Chhangur Baba, his family and aides. It had two dogs and 15 CCTV cameras. Chhangur Baba has properties at places outside UP too. One of these properties is in Maharashtra's Lonavala. He brought it for Rs 16. 49 crore on August 2, 2023, with his associate Naveen. 

Talking about his modus operandi, the UP police said, "The poor, helpless labourers, weaker sections, and widowed women were lured with incentives, financial aid, promises of marriage, or forced through intimidation, in violation of established procedures for religious conversion by the accused."