Chhangur Baba, accused of being the mastermind of a major religious conversion racket, falsely presented himself and his organisation as being affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), investigators said.
He is currently under the custody of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and is being interrogated for religious conversation allegations.
The Enforcement Directorate has also joined the probe after initial investigations revealed that his racket had received foreign funding of ₹106 crore, primarily from the Middle East and also from illegal assets across states.
Chhangur Baba, alias Jamaluddin, was the general secretary (Awadh) of an organisation named Bharat Pratikarth Seva Sangh, being run by another accused in the case, Eidul Islam.
The name of the organisation was a deliberate choice to give the false impression that it was affiliated or associated with the RSS, India Today quoted investigators as saying. The accused also used Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photo on the letterhead of the organisation.
To give credibility to this idea, Islam also established a bogus centre of the organisation in Nagpur, the headquarters of the Sangh, according to the India Today report.
{{/usCountry}}To give credibility to this idea, Islam also established a bogus centre of the organisation in Nagpur, the headquarters of the Sangh, according to the India Today report.
{{/usCountry}}Apart from the ATS probe, Chhangur Baba also faces money-laundering charges after the ED's zonal office in Lucknow filed a case against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Police officials familiar to the probe said that the conversion racket run by Chhangur Baba and Islam targeted people who visited dargahs seeking fulfillment of their wishes. Hindu women and families with liberal religious beliefs were also under the racket's radar.
UP ATS takes Dehradun man into custody over links to racket
The UP ATS had on Friday arrested a man over alleged links to the conversion racket run by the Chhangur Baba gang. The man, identified as Abdul Rehman, was detained from Sahaspur area and taken to Agra, where he was arrested after investigation, PTI quoted Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Singh.
Chhangur Baba, along with his aide Neetu, alias Nasreen, were arrested on July 5. Chhangur Baba's son was also a part of the nexus.
As part of the probe under the PMLA case, the ED raided 14 locations linked to Chhangur Baba and his accomplices, with 12 premises being in UP's Utaraula and two in Mumbai.
The raids led to the recovery of land documents, gold, luxury vehicles and unaccounted cash.