The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested Idhu Islam, a key accused in the Changur Baba religious conversion case, in Nagpur. He was named in a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the UP ATS in connection with the religious conversion racket and had been evading arrest for the last several months.
A non-bailable warrant was also issued against Islam, and he had been on the radar of the investigating agencies for long. He is being brought to Lucknow on a transit remand following his arrest in Nagpur. He is said to be a close associate of self-styled godman Jalaluddin alias Chhangur Baba, who faces allegations of large-scale and organised religious conversions.
According to officials, Islam, originally hailing from Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh, started running Bharat Pratikarth Sangh and portrayed the organisation tied to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and made Nagpur its head office to cause confusion and conceal the organisation’s true purpose. He was the head of the organisation and had appointed Chhangur Baba as the head of the Bharat Pratikarth Sangh for the Avadh province.
The UP ATS has already filed a chargesheet against Chhangur Baba, and his son Mehboob, in connection with an alleged illegal mass religious conversion racket in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur. The father-son duo is accused of funding more than 1,000 Muslim men to trap Hindu girls for conversion over the past three years.
Chhangur Baba allegedly received Rs 500 crore from Muslim countries to operate a conversion racket that systematically targeted poor, widowed, and vulnerable women. The investigation revealed that the group was working on a long-term plan to convert people by inducement and threats, with the ultimate aim of turning India into an Islamic nation by 2047.
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Published By:
Nitish Singh
Published On:
Jan 18, 2026
