Mirzapur conversion racket: 5 gyms, 50+ women targeted, constable Irshad Khan and Farid Ahmed arrested after encounter, 7 arrested so far for blackmailing and extortion

In Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur district, an Islamic conversion racket operating at five gyms was busted by the police after two Hindu women lodged separate complaints accusing Muslim gym trainers of sexually exploiting them, extorting money, and pressuring them to convert to Islam. During the investigation, it turned out that a Bhadohi police constable, Irshad Khan, was also involved in this Islamic conversion racket.

GRP constable Irshad Khan built an empire for himself using money made from extortion

GRP constable Irshad Khan and his accomplice Farid Ahmed lured over 50 girls under the guise of running “Iron Fire” and “KGN 2.0” gyms. Earlier, the Mirzapur Kotwali Dehat Police arrested two accused men identified as Mohammad Sheikh Ali Alam and Faisal Khan.

The police arrested GRP constable Irshad Khan and his accomplice Farid Ahmed after an encounter near Kharanja Falls. Farid was shot in the leg by the police. The Mirzapur Police recovered an illegal pistol and a mobile phone from Farid.

Meanwhile, a lookout circular has been issued against the racket’s mastermind, Ashfaq alias Lucky Ali Khan and his brother Imran Khan to ensure they do not manage to flee the country. The police have announced a bounty of Rs 25,000 for both brothers.

According to the police investigation, Constable Irshad Khan drove expensive cars and had established a chain of gyms with money he earned through illegal extortion.

Muslim woman ‘Sanno’ was tasked with winning the trust of Hindu women who attended the gyms run by the accused Muslims

In a typical ‘Kerala Story’ scenario, a Muslim woman named Sanno was actively involved in the racket and was tasked with winning the trust of Hindu girls and entrapping them.

The accused Muslim men would “share” the Hindu girls among themselves; if a victim failed to be trapped at one gym, the responsibility for trapping them would be assigned to another gym.

Five gyms where Hindu girls were targeted for conversion to Islam sealed after DM order

So far, the police have seized five such gyms, KGN-1.0, KGN-2.0, KGN-3.0, B-Fit, and Iron Fire, to prevent evidence tampering.

The sealing of the five gyms came after DM Pawan Kumar Gangwar imposed a complete ban on the operation of these gyms under Section 163 until 27^th February 2026.

Upon examining the mobile phones of the arrested accused, the police found incriminating digital evidence, including hundreds of photos, videos, and chats.

The police are investigating the financial trail of this gym-based Islamic conversion network. Amit Dubey, the landlord, said that he was unaware that the now-sealed KGN 2.0 gym was being used for such illegal activities. Reports say that the expensive equipment at this gym was purchased with money from religious conversions. Local residents say that women often frequented the gym late into the night,and parties took place.

Speaking about what happened and the police action in the case, Mirzapur SP Somen Verma said, “This case is from Kotwali Dehat. Two women (victims) filed a complaint alleging harassment by the owner and trainer of the gym they attended. The gym owner and others face serious allegations of exploiting the women, extorting money from them, and pressuring them to convert to Islam illegally. We are currently investigating the allegations in this case.” 

Meanwhile, ASP City Nitesh Singh said that four of the five gyms are run by three brothers and a brother-in-law.

The modus operandi

The matter came to light after two of the many victims filed complaints. The Mirzapur Police swung into action and sealed three such gyms and arrested two accused men identified as Mohammad Sheikh Ali Alam and Faisal Khan.

The two Hindu women who came forward and filed separate complaints at the Kotwali Dehat Police Station alleged that the accused Muslim men working as gym trainers in Mirzapur first befriended them and lured them into a trap, took private photos and videos, they also made AI-generated obscene videos and photos, and eventually blackmailed and pressured the Hindu women to convert to Islam.

On 20^th January, a case was registered against Mohammad Sheikh Ali Alam, resident of Natwan Millat Nagar and Faisal Khan, resident of Gosai Talab, Kotwali City police station. Based on interrogation and digital evidence, the police also detained Zaheer and Shadab for questioning. Police say that all the arrested and detained accused have been associated with different gyms and were running an organised love jihad network.

Accused Zaheer is the owner of the KGN-1 gym and has also been associated with the KGN-2, KGN-3, and Iron Fire gyms. The victims have previously attended the KGN gym, where they came in contact with the accused Muslim men.

One of the complainants who attended the B-Fit gym revealed that the accused Sheikh Ali befriended her, gradually lured her into his love trap, established physical relations, and took private photos and videos. Subsequently, Sheikh Ali allegedly blackmailed her and extorted money. He even took a loan in her name and kept asking for the OTP.

थाना को0देहात पर दो अलग-अलग पीड़िताओ द्वारा धर्म परिवर्तन के सम्बन्ध मे प्राप्त तहरीर की गंभीरता एवं संवेदनशीलता को देखते हुए अभियोग पंजीकृत कर अभियुक्त मो0 शेख व फैजल खान को गिरफ्तार, जिम मालिक जहीर खां को हिरासत मे लेकर विवेचनात्मक कार्यवाही के सम्बन्ध में #Addl_Sp_City की बाइट pic.twitter.com/PJieN3S582

— Mirzapur Police (@mirzapurpolice) January 20, 2026

According to the victim, accused Sheikh Ali Alam clicked pictures of her in a Burqa several times and pressured her to offer Namaz five times a day. He took the victim to a dargah, made her recite the Islamic Kalma, and forced her into converting to Islam.

However, when the Hindu victim protested, the accused Sheikh Ali Alam allegedly abused her, threatened to make her obscene videos viral online. He also threatened to kill her. The victim alleged that gym trainers Faisal and his associates are also involved in this love jihad and conversion racket.

Across all five gyms now sealed, the accused Muslim persons lured as many as 50 Hindu girls, exploited them, blackmailed them and were working on the agenda of converting them to Islam.

Now, the police are not only investigating the call data records of all the accused persons but also probing the funding of the gyms in question. Although the gym trainers were paid between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000, they wore branded shoes and clothing, and used expensive mobile phones. It has been reported that Mirzapur’s prominent businessmen and public representatives are among those who invested in these gyms.