The reach of the Maulana Jalaluddin Changur-led religious conversion racket has now extended into Uttarakhand, with Dehradun emerging as one of the latest targets. In a coordinated operation, police arrested two key suspects, Islamist Abdul Rehman from Dehradun and Abbu Talib from Muzaffarnagar, who are accused of trapping two young women through a network that exploited social media platforms to promote conversion under the guise of friendship and financial allure.
According to law enforcement, the young women were influenced via Instagram and other platforms, where they were systematically brainwashed using religious content and false promises of support. One of the victims was from the Ranipokhari area, where a formal complaint under the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act had already been registered against five members of the Changur gang. As per Live Hindustan, the victims are now being brought to Agra for further investigation, and police are in the process of identifying and tracking all social media accounts associated with the operation.
Investigators revealed that the accused would begin by establishing casual contact with young women, then gradually expose them to targeted religious propaganda. Over time, emotional manipulation was followed by monetary offers and promises of a better life upon conversion. Fortunately, in this case, the police intervened before the plan could be fully executed. Through the victims’ cooperation, several suspect accounts and their handlers, believed to be operating from outside Uttarakhand, have been identified.
The situation has triggered serious concern, especially since Abdul Rehman, one of the arrested individuals, has reportedly lived in Dehradun for over a decade and operated under the Hindu name Rupendra Yadav. Rehman, originally from Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh, is said to have married twice, once in Dehradun and again in Lucknow, and fathered eight children. Authorities believe he played a pivotal role in recruiting women for the Changur gang’s operations across the northern part of Bharat.
SSP Ajay Singh confirmed that another case involving a Dehradun-based girl has come to light, and further action is underway. Police are actively collecting digital evidence and communication records to expose the full extent of the gang’s activities. The UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which has already arrested several operatives of the gang, is working in coordination with Uttarakhand Police to dismantle the wider network.
Recently, in Noida and other parts of Uttar Pradesh, fresh cases have emerged, exposing the deceptive conversion tactics used by Maulana Jalaluddin Chhangur’s network. Victims were reportedly targeted through social media, emotionally manipulated, and lured with money and false promises.
The use of social media to target emotionally and financially vulnerable women for ideological exploitation and conversion points to a deeply organized strategy. As more such cases come to light, investigators are urging for robust cyber-monitoring, community awareness, and legal enforcement to prevent further misuse of digital platforms for religious manipulation.
