Bangladeshis among 14 fake ‘Babas’ held in Uttarakhand; were involved in cheating and religious conversion

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Police have arrested 14 fake godmen or ‘babas’, including some Bangladeshi nationals, for cheating people and forcing religious conversions. These arrests are part of a special campaign called ‘Operation Kalanemi’, started by the state government to stop such illegal activities.

Inspector General of Police (Crime and Law and Order), Nilesh Anand Bharane, shared details of the campaign in a press conference. He said that more than 5,500 people have been questioned across the state since the operation began in July 2025. Out of these, 1,182 people were given preventive notices, and 14 were arrested for serious crimes like fraud and religious conversion. The operation is still going on in various districts.

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2,704 people were checked and three were arrested in Haridwar

In Haridwar, 2,704 people were checked and three were arrested. In Dehradun, 922 people were checked, and five were arrested. Police have also taken action in Tehri, Pauri, Almora, Nainital, and other districts.

Fake identities and illegal activities

One of the arrested persons is a Bangladeshi citizen who had been living in Selaqui (Dehradun) for the last eight years. He was posing as a Bengali doctor named Amit Kumar and using fake documents to stay in India. Another accused is Ifraz Ahmed Lolu from Anantnag in Kashmir. He was also caught in Selaqui. He had been cheating women by hiding his real identity and pretending to be a rich man named Raj Ahuja from Delhi.

They were pretending to be saints or spiritual healers

Police say these people were pretending to be saints or spiritual healers and were fooling people, especially the poor and uneducated, by promising them solutions to their problems. In many cases, they were also trying to convert people’s religion using lies and fear.

Why the operation is named ‘Kalanemi’

The operation is named ‘Operation Kalanemi’ after a demon named Kalanemi mentioned in Indian epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. In the Ramayana, Kalanemi was a demon who disguised himself as a holy man (sadhu) to stop Lord Hanuman from finding the Sanjeevani Booti, a life-saving herb. He was later reborn as Kansa, the evil uncle of Lord Krishna. The police say the name fits this campaign because just like Kalanemi, the accused were pretending to be holy men while doing wrong things.

Purpose of the campaign

IG Nilesh Anand Bharane said Operation Kalanemi aims to protect the spiritual image of Uttarakhand, also known as Devbhoomi (Land of the Gods). He added that the police will continue to take strong action against those who cheat people in the name of religion. The public has also been asked to stay alert and report any suspicious activities to the police.

Police have said that they will not allow anyone to misuse religion to mislead or harm innocent people in the state.