In dusty towns and sprawling hinterlands across Bharat, a hidden machinery has been at work: sophisticated networks orchestrating mass religious conversions, quietly funded by foreign sources, and targeting some of the most vulnerable Hindu women, children, and the socially marginalised. Each revelation peels back layers of deception, grooming, and financial skullduggery. And at the heart of it all lies Chhangur Baba, whose arrest has shed light on the scale and precision of these dark operations.
Case 1: Chhangur Baba’s conversion network in Uttar Pradesh
Funding and Scale: Approximately 15 years ago, Karimulla Shah, a vendor of rings and amulets in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, reinvented himself as Chhangur Baba, a self-styled Haji Pir. He constructed multiple dargahs, hosting large-scale events that attracted thousands, including senior police officials. His network operated across 579 Hindu-majority districts, identified through a nationwide survey, spanning Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Nepal’s border regions. Over 3,000 agents were trained to facilitate conversions, with a specific focus on Hindu girls. Funds from Pakistan, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, funnelled through Nepal, were deposited into approximately 40 bank accounts. His associate, Neetu alias Nasreen, managed operations in Nepal’s border districts and accompanied Chhangur on international trips.
Modus Operandi: Chhangur Baba’s operation used a systematic approach, employing 1,000 Muslim youths to target Hindu girls in a “love trap” scheme, offering financial incentives for conversions and marriages. Codewords such as “project” for targeted girls, “kajal karna” for brainwashing, and “deedar karna” for introducing victims to Chhangur were used to maintain secrecy.
Case Status: On July 5, 2025, the UP ATS arrested Chhangur Baba, his son Mehoob, Neetu, and Naveen, among others. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on July 9, 2025, in Lucknow, targeting the financial network. The investigation continues, with authorities probing the syndicate’s international connections and funding exceeding Rs 100 crore.
Case 2: Umar Gautam’s Islamic Dawah Centre (IDC)
Funding and Scale: Mohammad Umar Gautam, born Shyam Prasad Singh Gautam in a Rajput family in Fatehpur, converted to Islam in 1986 after influence from a Muslim friend, Nasir Khan. He established the Islamic Dawah Centre (IDC) and other organisations, including Fatima Charitable Trust and Al Hasan Educational & Welfare Foundation, which facilitated over 1,000 illegal conversions. His network targeted vulnerable groups, particularly hearing and speech-impaired children, across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and other states. Foreign funding, including Rs 57 crore from Britain’s Al Falah Trust and contributions from Pakistan’s ISI, supported the operation. Gautam’s efforts were recognised by the Jeddah chapter of Aligarh Muslim University in 2018 for “spreading Islam.”
Modus Operandi: Gautam’s syndicate used inducements like marriage, jobs, and money, coupled with psychological manipulation, to convert individuals. He specifically targeted differently-abled children, brainwashing them to harbour hatred against non-Muslims and grooming them as potential suicide bombers.
Case Status: In June 2021, the UP ATS arrested Gautam and his associate Mufti Qazi Jahangir. On September 11, 2024, a special court in Lucknow sentenced Gautam and 11 others to life imprisonment under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.
Case 3: Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui’s conversion syndicate
Funding and Scale: Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, an Islamic scholar from western Uttar Pradesh, operated the Jamia Imam Waliullah Trust, which funded madrasas and facilitated illegal conversions. His network, uncovered in June 2021, was described as India’s largest conversion syndicate, active across multiple states and supported by Rs 150 crore in foreign funds from Bahrain, Britain, Turkey, and other Gulf countries. Siddiqui’s trust received donations through hawala channels, including Rs 1.5 crore from Bahrain and Rs 3 crore from Gulf countries.
Modus Operandi: The syndicate targeted upper-caste Hindu girls, particularly Brahmins and Kshatriyas, using inducements and mental pressure in the name of Jannat, Jahannum and Dozakh Ki Aag.
Case Status: Siddiqui was arrested by the UP ATS on September 21, 2021, in Meerut. The investigation revealed connections to Umar Gautam’s IDC, with three additional arrests on September 26, 2021. The ATS filed a charge sheet against 10 accused, including Siddiqui, for demographic manipulation and communal disruption.
Case 4: Salahuddin Zainuddin Sheikh’s terror funding links
Funding and Scale: Salahuddin Zainuddin Sheikh, a Vadodara native and head of the American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin, was linked to Umar Gautam’s conversion racket., Sheikh’s operation focused on funding conversions and religious infrastructure, with suspected ties to terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir. He received Rs 60 crore via hawala and Rs 19 crore through foreign donations, which were used to support conversions and mosque construction across India.
Modus Operandi: Manipulate vulnerable individuals into converting.
Case Status: Arrested by the UP ATS in 2021, Sheikh is under investigation for terror funding and conversion activities. The Vadodara police are probing his Jammu and Kashmir connections, with no final conviction reported as of July 2025.
Case 5: Varyava Abdul Vahab Mahmood in Gujarat
Funding and Scale: In Bharuch, Gujarat, Islamic preacher Varyava Abdul Vahab Mahmood and five associates converted 37 Hindu families and 100 individuals to Islam over 15 years.
Modus Operandi: The group, including Shabbirbhai and Samadbhai Bakerywala, offered monetary support to convert individuals, forcibly changing names on official documents like Aadhar cards. They converted a government-funded house into an Islamic place of worship, operating under the guise of social welfare.
Case Status: An FIR was filed on November 15, 2021, at Aamod Police Station under IPC sections and the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003. The case is ongoing.
Case 6: Maulana Hafiz Firoze Alam in Fatehpur
Funding and Scale: Maulana Hafiz Firoze Alam, a cleric at a Fatehpur mosque, ran a conversion racket for over a decade, targeting non-Muslim girls for conversion and sexual exploitation. His origins are unclear, with suspicions of him being a Bangladeshi or Rohingya illegal immigrant.
Modus Operandi: Firoze encouraged Muslim youths to lure non-Muslim girls with promises of money and pleasure, solemnising nikahs post-conversion.
Case Status: Firoze was arrested on September 24, 2021, for possessing fake identity documents under IPC sections and the Passport Act.
Grooming Jihad: The invisible war on women
Meanwhile, more informal but no less insidious “Grooming Jihad” cases have surfaced across Bijainagar, Bhopal, Mandsaur, and Indore, and other parts of India closely resembling the infamous Ajmer 1992 scandal. Here, organised gangs targeted Hindu girls and women using love traps, financial lures, and emotional blackmail. A chilling revelation: price lists for conversion targets, ranging from Rs 20 lakh for Brahmin women to Rs 10 lakh for SC/ST women. Promises of “Hoors in Jannat” have been whispered in mosque corridors and private networks, luring victims into life-altering traps.
Across all these cases, a disturbing pattern emerges, a well-oiled machinery of coercion, deceit, grooming, and manipulation, operating across state borders and bankrolled by a steady pipeline of foreign funds. As investigations deepen and more operatives are arrested, one thing becomes clear, this is not just about religion, but about demographic re-engineering, ideological warfare, and national security.
The big question now is: how many more such “Peers,” “Maulanas,” and “Trusts” are still hiding in plain sight, waiting to be exposed?
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