How UP Conversion Kingpin Acquired The Name 'Chhangur Baba', Twisted Followers Around His Fingers
Chhangur Baba, also known as Jalaluddin, is making headlines everywhere. Many are curious about his name, which he earned because he has six fingers on his left hand. ' Changur" is slang for 'chae ungli" (six fingers). Born in Rehra Maafi village in Balrampur district, he was originally named Jalaluddin. However, due to his six fingers, people soon started calling him 'Chhangur". When he styled himself as a Peer, he was quickly named Chhangur Baba.
Born into a poor family, he was shrewd and quick to seize opportunities. He mingled with local politicians and activists, hoping to find luck and make quick money. While selling lockets and trinkets and riding from village to village on a bicycle, he tried to establish himself as a 'divine" Peer with supernatural powers. He sensed a political opportunity and dabbled in local politics. He was elected as the Gram Pradhan of Rehra Maafi village and later got his wife elected to the same post. His living conditions improved, and he started travelling to bigger cities, presenting himself as an accomplished Peer. Most of his travels were to Mumbai, as many people from rural Balrampur had migrated to Mumbai and the Gulf region for work.
A police intelligence source revealed that Chhangur Baba used to roam around the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai and look out for visitors from other religions. It was here that he spotted Neetu Naveen Rohra, who was unable to conceive and visited various temples, shrines, and dargahs. He started giving her lockets and rings with supposed supernatural powers, promising she would soon bear a child, said the officer. Neetu, a well-educated English-speaking woman, was married to Naveen Rohra from a well-to-do Sindhi family in Mumbai. Soon, Neetu conceived and had a daughter, making the couple blind followers of Chhangur Baba. He started staying in their house during his visits to the city and eventually persuaded them to convert to Islam. The couple and their daughter travelled to Dubai and converted to Islam. Neetu was renamed Nasreen, and Naveen became Jamaluddin.
Chhangur Baba has emerged as one of the biggest religious conversion masterminds operating from Balrampur in UP, with connections from Nepal to the Gulf region. He is accused of converting more than 1,500 Hindu girls and a few men to Islam through brainwashing, 'love jihad", force, and blackmail. He allegedly received over Rs 100 crore in funding from abroad and controlled dozens of bank accounts. Police sources say he was part of an international conversion racket backed by Gulf-based organisations. Not only Chhangur Baba but also his close aides Nasreen (Neetu), Naveen (Jamaluddin), and his son Mehboob received funds from abroad through NRE/NRO accounts. All four are currently under arrest. The passports of Naveen and Nasreen reveal 19 trips to Dubai, and Chhangur is believed to have travelled even more frequently, sometimes using fake passports. Police sources say preachers from Dubai visited Chhangur Baba's mansion in Madhpur, Balrampur, to train his key aides and brainwash victims.
Though hailing from Rehra Maafi village, Chhangur created a new base in Madhpur village, Utraula Tehsil of Balrampur district, about 40 kilometres from the Indo-Nepal border. Here, he built a massive 40-room mansion, which served as his main base for conversions and other illegal activities. Authorities found the building illegal and demolished it with eight bulldozers. Police suspect that, apart from the conversion racket, Chhangur was also involved in anti-national activities and provided a safe house for terrorists at his Madhpur mansion. Gullible girls from Nepal were also potential conversion targets.
While the UP police, ATS, and STF are investigating the case, the central agency ED has also stepped in to probe international connections and money trails. Agencies are also probing his suspected links to Pakistan's ISI. Investigators found several copies of a book called 'Shizer e Tayeeba" at Chhangur Baba's Madhpur mansion. This book is not just religious, but acts as a guide on targeting potential converts and brainwashing them. Chhangur got thousands of copies of this book printed and circulated to his followers in UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Nepal. He was also planning to print a new book aimed at discrediting the Hindu religion and its alleged malpractices, according to a police source.
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