ED’s searches were conducted on Chhangur Baba’s and his associates’ locations, and large quantities of land documents and unaccounted cash was found.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday morning began raids at 14 locations linked to Jalaluddin Shah alias Chhangur Baba, and his accomplices. Among premises searched, 12 were in Uttar Pradesh’s Utaraula and two were in Mumbai.
The raids against Chhangur Baba came amid allegations of him masterminding a large-scale religious conversion racket in UP’s Balrampur.
The raids resulted in the recovery of of large quantities of land documents, luxury vehicles, gold, and unaccounted cash.
The ED also targeted one Shahzad Sheikh’s location in Mumbai, as over ₹1 crore was transferred from Chhangur Baba’s accounts to his account.
Chhangur Baba is accused of accumulating vast wealth under the guise of religious faith, with disclosures of properties worth crores of rupees.
The ED has also focused on Chhangur Baba’s close followers, associates, and ashram managers, investigating their bank accounts, properties, and transactions. There is suspicion of foreign funding in Chhangur Baba’s network, with evidence of money coming from Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Nepal.
Chhangur Baba and his aide Neetu alias Nasreen were arrested by the UP Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad on July 5. Both of them, alongwith Chhangur Baba’s son, were allegedly part of an organized network involved in the religious conversion of Hindus and other non-Muslims to Islam.
However, Chhangur Baba has denied all charges, claiming he is unaware of anything. “I am innocent. I don’t know anything,” Chhangur Baba told news agency ANI.
However, according to UPAdditional Director General (ADG) of Law and Order, Amitabh Yash, Chhangur Baba’s gang was operational for 15 years, and used honey-trapping and administrative pressure to facilitate conversions.
The top official also said that minors were targeted by the racket and some foreign funding was also traced.
“Separate rate cards existed for different types of conversions, and the money was routed through nearly 40 bank accounts. The ATS is tracking the sources of these funds,” he was quoted as saying.
The ED raids on Chhangur Baba’s premises come a week after officials demolished illegal structures associated with him.
The article originally appeared on Hindustan Times
