The roots of the illegal religious conversion racket led by Chhangur Baba in Uttar Pradesh might date back over a decade. It is now revealed that a district magistrate who brought the case to light in 2024 was transferred, days after he submitted the report.
Arvind Kumar Singh, the then DM of Balrampur, had in June 2024 submitted a 100-page report to the chief minister’s office detailing alleged collusion between the local police and criminal elements.
Singh’s investigation had centred around a ‘self-styled’ Baba and the registration of a piece of land for a mausoleum/seminary at Sadullah Nagar. His report alleged that Arif Anwar Hashmi, a former Samajwadi Party MLA from the area, had played a role in the registration of the land using fake papers.
The land registered belonged to the police station. Anwar Hashmi, however, formed a committee called the Thana Sharif Shahide Millat Abdul Kaddus Shah Rahmatullah Alaih and appointed his brother as the mutawalli (caretaker). He also built a mausoleum on this land.
The then SP remained silent, but when Arvind Singh got wind of the matter, he investigated it.
Singh’s report highlighted that some big mischief was afoot in Utraula, another town in the district, and the in-charges of three police stations in the area were in cahoots with criminal elements.
Within 10 days of submitting the report, Singh was transferred.
Utraula is the place where Chhangur Baba’s mansion was demolished after his arrest last month. Chhangur is believed to have been active in this place since 2013.
#WATCH | Utraula, Balrampur | Uttar Pradesh administration, in the presence of police, takes action on the properties belonging to Chhangur Baba, who is the alleged mastermind of a religious conversion gang. He was arrested by Uttar Pradesh ATS. pic.twitter.com/ttiK8YdP0Y
— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2025
Chhangur’s son Mehboob and alleged associates Naveen Rohra and Neetu Rohra alias Nasreen have also been arrested in connection with the case. It, however, appears that Chhangur and Nasreen might just be pawns in a much larger game plan.
The investigators suspect that the mastermind of the alleged conversions might be someone with strong roots in Dubai, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The same person might also be instigating large-scale conversions in Nepal, they believe.
The 2024 report filed by Singh had clearly implicated the then police station in charge of Sadullah Nagar. The report had been sent to the additional chief secretaries of the chief minister’s office and the home department.
Singh, in his letter written to both the officers on June 18, 2024, had claimed that the inspector-in-charge, in connivance with the then officers, had provided protection to Anwar Hashmi. Serious allegations were also levelled against the then SHO in the magisterial inquiry, but no action was taken against him.
Sadullah Nagar remains a communally sensitive area while investigative agencies are still trying to figure out how deep the roots of the racket are. The investigation is concentrated on the seven districts of the state bordering Nepal.
