‘Zainab’ reveals shocking details of forced conversion by Chhangur Baba

Lucknow, July 14 A woman who claims to have been a victim of a forced religious conversion orchestrated by Jamaluddin alias Chhangur Baba, the alleged mastermind of a large-scale conversion racket, has come forward on Monday with disturbing details of her ordeal.

She described how she was forcibly married, renamed, and coerced into religious practices under threat and violence.

Speaking to IANS, the woman recounted, “In 2019, my mother met a boy who told her about Chhangur Baba, claiming he could help my father quit alcohol. That was our first encounter. Baba gave us a taweez (amulet) and recited some prayers. We went back home. Then, in 2024, the same boy told us Baba was visiting Kanpur and took us to meet him again. He took me to a mosque in Fatehpur where I was forcibly married. That’s when I learned his real name - Meraj Ansari. During a video call, Chhangur Baba renamed me Zainab.”

She further alleged that after this forced marriage, she was held captive for three months.

“They kept me in their home for three months. Meraj Ansari’s mother made me learn Namaz every day and used to beat me if I refused. When I resisted having a physical relationship with Meraj, his father would threaten me to say, ‘You want to stop India from becoming an Islamic nation?’ His mother would tell them to send me to Pakistan. Their paternal uncle lives in Pakistan, and they used to threaten me constantly,” she said.

Chhangur Baba, once a humble vendor selling rings and amulets on his bicycle, is now accused of running a sophisticated conversion syndicate funded by foreign money. Investigations have revealed that he controls funds worth Rs 106 crore, allegedly received from Middle Eastern countries, distributed across 40 bank accounts, along with at least two properties worth crores.

He was arrested on Saturday along with his close associate Neetu alias Nasreen from a hotel in Lucknow, days after the racket was busted in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur district. Since the arrests, agencies have intensified investigations into his vast network and financial dealings.

Chhangur Baba hails from Rehra Mafi village in Uttar Pradesh and once served as its village head. According to officials, his entire empire, built on conversion-linked funds, is centred in the Uttaraula area of Balrampur district, which shares a border with Nepal.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Jamaluddin, accusing him of forced religious conversions, misuse of foreign funding, and activities posing a threat to national security and communal harmony. The ED said it is investigating offences under money laundering laws, confirming that the Rs 106 crore found in his accounts is suspected to have come mainly from Islamic countries in the Middle East to finance this conversion network.

Investigations are ongoing, and authorities are scrutinising documents and digital evidence to trace the full extent of the operation.

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