‘Innocent, Don't Know Anything…’: Chhangur Baba Denies Religious Conversion Allegations

Last Updated:July 16, 2025, 15:48 IST

Jamaluddin, known as Chhangur Baba, a self-styled spiritual leader from Uttar Pradesh, denies charges of running an illegal religious conversion racket. He was arrested on July 5.

Chhangur Baba was arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur. (Photo Credit: ANI)

Jamaluddin alias Chhangur Baba, a self-styled godman from Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur, who is accused of orchestrating a large-scale illegal religious conversion racket, has denied his involvement in the alleged conversion racket saying that he is innocent and don’t know anything.

“I am innocent. I don’t know anything," he said, as quoted by news agency ANI when being taken from the Community Health Centre after a medical examination.

Chhangur Baba, the alleged mastermind of a religious conversion gang, was arrested on July 5 by Uttar Pradesh Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad.

New Charge Against Chhangur Baba

Meanwhile, a family from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad has charged fresh allegations against Chhangur Baba and his aide, Badar Akhtar Siddique, saying that they lured their daughter into a trap under the guise of offering her employment in Dubai.

The family said their daughter went missing in 2019 after being brainwashed by Chhangur Baba. The sister of the missing girl said she met Siddiqui when she was pursuing a course in tour and travel in 2019. She said that Badar then lured her on the pretext of taking her around in cars and gradually brainwashed her.

She said her sister has not been seen since October 24, 2019.

“This started in 2019. My sister went missing in October 2019 and after that, we only received a few messages from her phone until the end of October. The spelling and typing style in those messages were very different, not how my sister used to type, which made us suspicious that the phone was no longer with her…" she said as quoted by news agency IANS.

Charges Against Chhangur Baba

On July 5, Chhangur Baba, the alleged mastermind of a religious conversion gang, was arrested along with his aide, Neetu alias Nasreen. The two are residents of Madhpur in Balrampur district, bordering Nepal.

Chhangur’s arrest is currently under UP ATS custody for a 7-day remand till July 16. Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing financial irregularities, including suspicious transactions worth over Rs 106 crore spread across 40 bank accounts, along with at least two properties reportedly worth crores.

Who Is Chhangur Baba?

Chhangur Baba is the alleged mastermind of a large illegal religious conversion racket based in Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh. As reported earlier, he had worked in gemstone sales and gained popularity after spending some time in Mumbai.

His influence in the local area grew steadily, and he even contested elections for the posts of village head and district council member.

Modus Operandi

According to the STF, the accused told the investigators that he used several code words to communicate with his gang. Explaining the modus operandi, he told investigators that his aides would lure young people and ask them to convert their religion by luring them with financial incentives, foreign travel, jobs and scholarships.

The operation is reported to have been supported by nearly Rs 100 crore in foreign funding, according to officials. Investigators found that the money was used to buy several luxury properties, bungalows, expensive vehicles, and showrooms.

More than 40 bank accounts, some under false names, were used to transfer the funds, pointing towards money laundering.

(With inputs from agencies)

Shobhit Gupta

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben...Read More

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben...

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