Conversion Mafia: Rs 106 Crore, 40 Bank Accounts, and Trail of Lies

By Harshita Rai

Some stories don’t just shock us — they shake us. The revelations surrounding Chhangur Baba, or Jamaluddin as he was known earlier, are one such blow to our collective conscience. What has come to light is not just a criminal act — it’s a deeply orchestrated betrayal of trust, one that played with people’s faith, futures, and fears.

This man wasn’t some obscure fraud. He was running a well-oiled conversion syndicate, using coded language like “project” (women), “mitti palatna” (conversion), and “kajal lagana” (manipulation). He targeted women — often vulnerable, poor, and young — not to help them, not to guide them, but to use them as pawns in a dangerous game of identity manipulation, funded by crores from foreign sources.

Behind Every Statistic, A Broken Life

A 16-year-old girl from Faridabad thought she had found love. Instead, she found herself in the hands of predators. Taken to Nizamuddin Dargah, made to offer namaz, told to convert and marry — all under the illusion of a better life. Another man, Sanjeet Kumar, just a sweeper trying to make ends meet, was threatened at gunpoint to abandon his faith in exchange for money and security. He ran — literally — to save his life and his beliefs.

These aren’t just “cases” in a police file. These are real people, real families, real pain.

From Amulets to Rs 106 Crore: How Did We Let This Happen?

The scale is jaw-dropping. Over ₹106 crore flowed through 40 bank accounts linked to Chhangur Baba. The Enforcement Directorate has confirmed ₹68 crore worth of transactions in just 18 of them. ₹7 crore came in from foreign sources in three months alone — mostly from Middle Eastern nations, as per investigative agencies.

How did a man who once cycled around selling rings turn into the mastermind of a radicalisation network spanning villages, cities, and digital channels? The answer is chilling: Because we looked the other way.

Religious Freedom Is Not a Free Pass for Exploitation

Let’s be clear — India is and must remain a nation that respects all faiths. Religious freedom is a cornerstone of our Constitution. But coercion, deceit, grooming, and foreign-funded manipulation in the name of religion is not freedom — it is fraud.

When religion becomes a means to trap the poor, prey on women, and politicise identities, it loses its sacredness. It becomes a tool of control, not a path to liberation.

Why the Deafening Silence?

Where are the usual defenders of human rights when these young girls are brainwashed and emotionally blackmailed into giving up their entire identity? Why do some voices become conveniently quiet when victims don’t fit their narrative? Selective outrage is the worst kind of hypocrisy.

And let us ask: why must it take a crisis for us to notice what’s already brewing under the surface? Religious conversion mafias, love jihad rackets, and fraudulent missions have penetrated deep into small towns and border districts, aided by lax scrutiny and digital anonymity.

What Needs to Be Done — Now

• The UP government must fast-track the investigation and ensure this case reaches a court of law quickly.
• The Centre must audit all foreign-funded religious institutions and NGOs involved in mass conversions.
• Victims need psychological counselling, legal support, and social rehabilitation.
• Stronger central legislation is needed to tackle coercive conversions with an iron hand — not against any one faith, but against abuse of all faiths.

A Message for Every Indian Parent

This isn’t just a story about a criminal gang. It’s a warning. Talk to your children. Understand their vulnerabilities. Watch out for strangers offering dreams that feel too good to be true. Because sometimes, behind a smiling face is a predator with a foreign funder’s wallet and a destructive agenda.

In the End, This Is About Trust

Chhangur Baba betrayed the trust of the people who followed him — not in matters of faith, but in matters of hope. And when hope is hijacked, it leads to disillusionment, loss, and sometimes, the erasure of identity.

India’s soul is rooted in spiritual freedom, not spiritual manipulation. This country has been home to every faith, every sect, every belief system — and will remain so. But only if we protect the sacred from being commercialised, and shield the vulnerable from those who prey on them.

As citizens, as parents, as people — we must say it loud: faith is not for sale.