AIMIM leader Ajfarul Haque alias Prince has been arrested in a high‑profile case from Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district involving allegations of sexual exploitation, forced religious conversion, and trafficking of Hindu women and girls. The case surfaced after a young Hindu woman from the Kalwari police station area filed a detailed complaint accusing Prince and his associates of trapping her by posing as Hindu, sexually assaulting her, and pressuring her to convert. Following her complaint, police registered an FIR against Prince and seven others under sections related to gang rape and religious conversion, and later traced and arrested Prince from Bandra in Mumbai.

Modus operandi: posing as Hindu, job lure, and sexual exploitation

According to the survivor’s statement, she first met Prince in January 2022, when he introduced himself as a Hindu, even wearing a kalawa (Hindu sacred thread) on his wrist to reinforce the false identity. He is accused of luring her with the promise of a job and then entering into a relationship on the pretext of marriage, after which he allegedly sexually exploited her repeatedly. When she eventually went to his house to confront him and demand accountability, she alleges that Prince, along with his brother and other relatives, carried out a gang‑rape.

The survivor has also stated that when she resisted or tried to complain, her family faced harassment, and her brother was allegedly abducted to intimidate the family into silence. These allegations have been incorporated into the FIR, with police invoking serious sections dealing with gang rape, criminal conspiracy, and provisions pertaining to coercive religious conversion.

Claim of 300 Hindu girls trapped and blackmailed

In her complaint and subsequent statements, the survivor has claimed that Prince, who is described as a history‑sheeter by local police, and his family members have targeted around 300 Hindu girls using similar tactics. The alleged pattern includes: posing as Hindus, establishing romantic relationships, recording obscene or compromising videos, and then using these videos to blackmail the victims into converting their religion, continuing sexual exploitation, or cooperating with further criminal activities.

The complaint further alleges that the network around Prince was not limited to individual exploitation but had links with organized trafficking. According to the survivor, there was a plan to push some of these girls into sex work and sell them in different parts of India and even abroad, with members of Prince’s family allegedly participating directly in this racket. Police are now examining whether the figure of 300 girls can be corroborated through digital evidence, additional complainants, or other records.

FIR, legal sections, and ongoing investigation

Acting on the survivor’s written complaint (tahrir), Basti police registered an FIR at the Kotwali police station against Prince and seven other accused persons. The case includes stringent sections related to gang rape and forced religious conversion, reflecting the gravity of the allegations levelled by the complainant. After the FIR, the then Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhinandan reportedly issued strict instructions for rapid investigation, arrest of the prime accused, and collection of digital and testimonial evidence.

A team sent outside the state traced Prince to Bandra in Mumbai, took him into custody, and produced him before court, following which he was sent to judicial custody. Police teams are now examining his social media activity, phone records, and alleged online networks to identify other potential co‑accused and to verify the scale of the purported trafficking and conversion racket. Investigators are also probing the possible involvement of family members and associates named in the FIR and in the survivor’s depositions.

Administrative fallout: transfer of Basti SP

In a swift administrative move that sparked discussion in the district, the Uttar Pradesh government transferred SP Abhinandan shortly after the case and the arrest of Prince. Abhinandan has been shifted to Saharanpur, and IPS officer Yashvir Singh has been appointed as the new SP of Basti. Locally, the timing of the transfer has led to speculation and public debate, with many connecting it to the sensitive nature of the alleged religious conversion racket and the initial handling of the case by the district police.

Officially, the transfer has been presented as part of routine administrative reshuffles, but police sources in the district acknowledge that high‑profile and communally sensitive cases often trigger closer bureaucratic scrutiny. The reshuffle has become a political talking point, with expectations now centring on how the new SP will steer the investigation and maintain law and order amid rising public attention.

New SP Yashvir Singh and expectations from the probe

IPS officer Yashvir Singh, who has now taken charge as Basti SP, is regarded within the force as a strict and dynamic officer with a reputation for taking tough action against organized crime. Local expectations are that he will oversee a deeper probe into the alleged conversion and trafficking racket, track down all named and unnamed accused, and ensure that any additional victims feel safe to come forward. Police teams under his supervision are focusing on decoding the social media and communication network allegedly used to contact and trap women, and on mapping out any interstate or international links hinted at in the survivor’s statement.

Officials say that further arrests are likely once the analysis of digital evidence is completed and corroborated with witness testimonies and call‑detail records. The survivor and her family are stated to be under police protection as the investigation progresses, given the allegations of past intimidation and abduction of her brother.

Wider implications: conversion, trafficking, and women’s safety

The Basti case has amplified concerns in Uttar Pradesh about love‑jihad style operations, in which young men adopt a false religious identity to target Hindu women for exploitation and conversion. It also highlights the intersection of coercive religious conversion, sexual violence, and trafficking, raising questions about the reach of organized such grooming networks using social media, false promises of employment, and marriage to trap vulnerable women.

The outcome of the ongoing investigation—especially whether the claim of 300 victims can be substantiated—will likely influence future policy debates on religious conversion laws, trafficking frameworks, and the policing of online predatory grooming networks in Uttar Pradesh and beyond.