The menace of fake Babas in Uttar Pradesh: Riyazuddin became Jinnat Baba who ‘speaks’ to Maa Kali, Saddam became Sameer Baba who ‘heals’ diseases with cloves; earning in lakhs per month
In Uttar Pradesh, numerous cases of fraudulent Muslim Peer Babas defrauding gullible people with promises of honour, prestige, wealth, business growth, or the birth of a son, and whatnot have emerged. The fake Peer Babas are running ‘Darbars’ and even defrauding people in the name of solving their problems by making coins dance by sticking magnets to their hands. One Peer Baba makes people drink water with cloves, is accused of attempted murder. Despite this, this Baba is earning up to 50,000 rupees from 200 to 400 people by holding court for 5 to 9 hours every day. That means he is earning a whopping 14-15 lakh rupees per month. These startling revelations have been made by Dainik Bhaskar in their on-ground investigation reports. Maharajganj: Riyazuddin alias Jinnat Baba defrauding people by claiming to talk to Maa Kali There is a case of one Riyazuddin alias Jinnat Baba in Biraichi village near Maharajganj. The police stopped construction of his massive court. Riyazuddin’s father revealed that he was jailed and came out on bail recently. The police action came after local BJP leaders and Bajrang Dal lodged a complaint against the Muslim fraud. He said that the Jinnat Baba’s court is being held near the Ghughli Buzurg cremation ground, 10 kilometers from Biraichi village, on the banks of the Chhoti Gandak River, adjacent to the Kushinagar border. Upon visiting, Bhaskar reporters found around 400 people in attendance of Riyazuddin/Jinnat’s fraud ‘sabha’. Shockingly, this Riyazuddin was not performing any Islamic occult practice but rather using Hindu religious symbols to fool his targets. His ‘darbar’ was near a temple of the Hindu Goddess. Riyazuddin was also performing exorcisms by waving a stick at people. He would also pretend to speak to Goddess Kali at times. He would sing Bhojpuri songs, ask Goddess Kali questions, and then, using a modified voice, would answer. Riyazuddin would ask some to attend the court three times, while others would suggest a different treatment. Then, the boy sitting next to Baba would collect the 51-rupee fee and take the incense sticks, camphor, cloves, and frankincense brought by the people. Interestingly, when asked too many questions proving his guess about the problems his visitors are having, Riyazuddin would silence them by shouting or by asking them to make three visits to the Darbar first, and then Maa Kali would tell how their problems would be solved. Riyazuddin. Image: Dainik Bhaskar At Riyazuddin’s court, we were charged a fee of 51 rupees. Here, we ordered incense sticks, camphor, cloves, and frankincense from a nearby shop, which cost 70 rupees. We weren’t allowed to burn them; the boys working for Riyazuddin kept them. They returned them to the shop and collected the money. This means Riyazuddin is earning 121 rupees per person. On the day we visited the court, he prepared forms for approximately 400 people in 5 hours. This means he earned 48,400 rupees in one day. Riyazuddin is earning a whopping 14.52 lakh rupees a month by defrauding people in this way. Kushinagar: Saddam alias Sameer Baba giving ‘chamatkari’ treatment to remove ghosts, heal diseases and give employment In the Kohargaddi village near Kushinagar district, one ‘Ajmer Wale Chamatkari Baba Sameer Sahib’ has set up his ‘darbar’. Baba Sameer, originally Saddam, does not pretend to be a Hindu saint, although he attracts visitors from diverse sections of society. Like Jinnat Baba, Saddam alias Sameer Baba also guesses the problems of those who visit him to have their grievances resolved and would claim that ‘Jinn’ or ‘Khabis’ has entered their homes. He would then offer ‘free’ treatment. However, that’s the catch. The so-called treatment is not really free. Sameer Baba has a lucrative ‘business model’. Saddam alias Baba Sameer. Image: Dainik Bhaskar His targets are asked to buy cloves worth Rs 30 and water bottles worth Rs 60. Saddam alias Sameer pretends to enchant it with some holy verses. He would ask the visitors to drink the ‘enchanted’ water for three days. Bhaskar’s team also posed as a ‘fariyadi’ to understand the modus operandi of this fraud. They found that Saddam does this with more than 200 people every day. He charges them 50 to 100 rupees. That means he’s earning 3 to 5 lakh rupees a month. Saddam writes slips in Arabic and offers tablets as medicine for removing complications for women planning to have babies. These tablets cost Rs 1500. He has also colluded with one Altaf Ansari, who runs a pathology. This alleged physician charges Rs 800 per test and allegedly gives reports as per Saddam alias Sameer Baba’s instructions per case. Bhaskar reporter, pretended to be a woman having difficulty in conceiving. She too was directed by the fraud Baba get her tests done at Ansari’s pathology. After tests, Ansari told her that she is having problems and needs to undergo treatment. He said that if Sameer Baba wished, she would have a baby. However, when
In Uttar Pradesh, numerous cases of fraudulent Muslim Peer Babas defrauding gullible people with promises of honour, prestige, wealth, business growth, or the birth of a son, and whatnot have emerged. The fake Peer Babas are running ‘Darbars’ and even defrauding people in the name of solving their problems by making coins dance by sticking magnets to their hands.
One Peer Baba makes people drink water with cloves, is accused of attempted murder. Despite this, this Baba is earning up to 50,000 rupees from 200 to 400 people by holding court for 5 to 9 hours every day. That means he is earning a whopping 14-15 lakh rupees per month. These startling revelations have been made by Dainik Bhaskar in their on-ground investigation reports.
Maharajganj: Riyazuddin alias Jinnat Baba defrauding people by claiming to talk to Maa Kali
There is a case of one Riyazuddin alias Jinnat Baba in Biraichi village near Maharajganj. The police stopped construction of his massive court. Riyazuddin’s father revealed that he was jailed and came out on bail recently. The police action came after local BJP leaders and Bajrang Dal lodged a complaint against the Muslim fraud. He said that the Jinnat Baba’s court is being held near the Ghughli Buzurg cremation ground, 10 kilometers from Biraichi village, on the banks of the Chhoti Gandak River, adjacent to the Kushinagar border.
Upon visiting, Bhaskar reporters found around 400 people in attendance of Riyazuddin/Jinnat’s fraud ‘sabha’. Shockingly, this Riyazuddin was not performing any Islamic occult practice but rather using Hindu religious symbols to fool his targets. His ‘darbar’ was near a temple of the Hindu Goddess. Riyazuddin was also performing exorcisms by waving a stick at people. He would also pretend to speak to Goddess Kali at times. He would sing Bhojpuri songs, ask Goddess Kali questions, and then, using a modified voice, would answer.
Riyazuddin would ask some to attend the court three times, while others would suggest a different treatment. Then, the boy sitting next to Baba would collect the 51-rupee fee and take the incense sticks, camphor, cloves, and frankincense brought by the people. Interestingly, when asked too many questions proving his guess about the problems his visitors are having, Riyazuddin would silence them by shouting or by asking them to make three visits to the Darbar first, and then Maa Kali would tell how their problems would be solved.
At Riyazuddin’s court, we were charged a fee of 51 rupees. Here, we ordered incense sticks, camphor, cloves, and frankincense from a nearby shop, which cost 70 rupees. We weren’t allowed to burn them; the boys working for Riyazuddin kept them. They returned them to the shop and collected the money.
This means Riyazuddin is earning 121 rupees per person. On the day we visited the court, he prepared forms for approximately 400 people in 5 hours. This means he earned 48,400 rupees in one day. Riyazuddin is earning a whopping 14.52 lakh rupees a month by defrauding people in this way.
Kushinagar: Saddam alias Sameer Baba giving ‘chamatkari’ treatment to remove ghosts, heal diseases and give employment
In the Kohargaddi village near Kushinagar district, one ‘Ajmer Wale Chamatkari Baba Sameer Sahib’ has set up his ‘darbar’. Baba Sameer, originally Saddam, does not pretend to be a Hindu saint, although he attracts visitors from diverse sections of society. Like Jinnat Baba, Saddam alias Sameer Baba also guesses the problems of those who visit him to have their grievances resolved and would claim that ‘Jinn’ or ‘Khabis’ has entered their homes. He would then offer ‘free’ treatment. However, that’s the catch. The so-called treatment is not really free. Sameer Baba has a lucrative ‘business model’.
His targets are asked to buy cloves worth Rs 30 and water bottles worth Rs 60. Saddam alias Sameer pretends to enchant it with some holy verses. He would ask the visitors to drink the ‘enchanted’ water for three days. Bhaskar’s team also posed as a ‘fariyadi’ to understand the modus operandi of this fraud. They found that Saddam does this with more than 200 people every day. He charges them 50 to 100 rupees. That means he’s earning 3 to 5 lakh rupees a month.
Saddam writes slips in Arabic and offers tablets as medicine for removing complications for women planning to have babies. These tablets cost Rs 1500. He has also colluded with one Altaf Ansari, who runs a pathology. This alleged physician charges Rs 800 per test and allegedly gives reports as per Saddam alias Sameer Baba’s instructions per case. Bhaskar reporter, pretended to be a woman having difficulty in conceiving. She too was directed by the fraud Baba get her tests done at Ansari’s pathology. After tests, Ansari told her that she is having problems and needs to undergo treatment. He said that if Sameer Baba wished, she would have a baby. However, when the Bhaskar reporter
Notably, when tested by a genuine gynaecologist, Dr Surhita Karim, it emerged that the test reports are normal, contrary to the lies told by Altaf Ansari.
Before becoming a full-time fraud ‘Baba’, Sameer alias Saddam used to run a gang of goons in the village. Gradually, he started misleading people by doing black magic. Now, he is holding court on his sister’s 2 decimal land (about 871 square feet). His wife and children live in the village itself. Father Amirullah used to roam around the area and repair umbrellas. Sameer’s brothers, Fakhruddin and Safuddin, are fish farmers. One brother Musafir, is a paint-polish contractor in Lucknow. Another brother Lal Mohammad has been jailed for cow smuggling. Younger brother Naeem Ahmed is the village head.
Notably, besides Sameer Baba, one Surendra Sahni is also running his fake healing courts in Kushinagar’s Pachfeda Khanu Chhapra. He has opened various shops there and attracts around 200 visitors a day. Surendra Sahni was treating sick people with exorcisms. Sahni does tricks with coins and charges around Rs 50,000 per Pooja. This essentially means that if this fraud Baba conducts even one pooja daily, he earns Rs 1.5 million per month.
Meanwhile, the police have said that criminal activities often take place in the name of exorcism and faith healing. In such a case, if any criminal wrongdoing is found in these matters, strict action will be taken.
