The arrest of Jamaluddin alias Changur Baba a self-styled “godman” operating out of Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh has peeled back layers of a well-oiled machinery of deceit, manipulation, foreign funding, and institutional subversion. What began as a local police case has snowballed into a multi-agency probe spanning several states and international money trails.
For years, Jamaluddin presented himself as a Hindu spiritual leader, donning saffron robes and invoking Bhartiya traditions. But behind this carefully crafted image was Jamaluddin, a trained and networked operative involved in mass-scale religious conversions, especially targeting Hindu minors from SC/ST and OBC communities.
He wasn’t working alone. The entire operation appears to have been scripted to infiltrate Hindu institutions, exploit Prime Minister Modi’s image, and leverage false affiliations with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to gain influence among political and bureaucratic circles.
What stunned investigators was how Jamaluddin used official-looking letterheads featuring PM Narendra Modi’s photo to present himself as a senior figure in “Bharat Pratikarth Seva Sangh”, a pseudo-patriotic body that masqueraded as an RSS affiliate.
This organisation, say officials, was nothing more than a shell front, co-founded by another accused, Eidul Islam, who is believed to be the real handler and financier of the operation. Islam even opened a fake “regional center” in Nagpur the very city where RSS is headquartered to further cement the illusion of nationalist credentials.
The intention was clear: manipulate public perception, gain access to power corridors, and carry out the Islamisation of Hindus under the garb of spiritual service.
The most disturbing aspect of the racket is the targeted grooming and conversion of minor Hindu girls, particularly from vulnerable backgrounds orphans, domestic abuse survivors, and families in debt. Changur Baba would offer food, protection, and ‘divine blessings,’ only to gradually introduce Islamic theology and rituals, often without the girls even realising they were being converted.
In many instances, the girls were transported to remote madrasa-linked shelters under the guise of spiritual training, only to later discover their new religious identity had been formalised through forged documents. According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the scale of financial transactions tied to Changur Baba’s network is staggering. Investigators have found:
Over Rs 500 crore in foreign funds, suspected to be routed from Gulf nations and Pakistani entities.
Rs 60 crore in money laundering operations uncovered through 22 bank accounts traced to Baba and his associates.
Properties worth Rs 100 crore, spread across Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, much of it illegally encroached government land.
Officials believe that this racket may be part of a larger Islamist funding pipeline aimed at destabilising India socially, culturally, and politically.
The brazenness with which the accused operated is alarming. Changur Baba routinely met with district-level officers, politicians, and even mid-level police officials, posing as a “nationalist spiritual guru.” The use of Modi’s image and saffron branding allowed him to penetrate institutional trust that is normally hard-earned. This case has brought into question the ease with which fraudsters can hijack symbols of national identity to advance subversive agendas.
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