Uttar Pradesh: Ayush Malik becomes Mohammad Ali, father says female Muslim gym trainer brainwashed him for property; police probe Pakistan link

The case of religious conversion of a young Hindu man, Ayush Malik, in the Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, has shed light on the growing menace of inorganic Islamic religious conversion in the country. 27-year-old Ayush Malik, born into a wealthy Hindu family, converted to Islam against his family’s wishes. He even married a Muslim woman, Chandni Qureshi, who is also a resident of Shamli, in a secret Nikah ceremony in Delhi, to avoid interference from his family. The incident has led to the filing of an FIR against nine persons, including Chadni Qureshi and her father, Islam Qureshi, at the City Kotwali police station. The father-daughter duo was arrested by the police and sent to judicial custody on Sunday (9th June). थाना कोतवाली क्षेत्रान्तर्गत मौहल्ला काजीवाडा में आर्थिक लाभ कमाने के उद्देश्य से योजनाबद्ध तरीके से युवक पर दबाव बनाकर उसे प्रेमजाल में फंसाकर उसे ब्लैकमेल कर उसका धर्मांतरण करने के मामले में 02 अभियुक्तगण गिरफ्तार । @Uppolice https://t.co/b3msmlHwIR pic.twitter.com/uUZgLG4c2m— Shamli police (@PoliceShamli) June 7, 2026 Initial police investigation revealed that Ayush met Chandni in 2022. They kept in touch with each other since then and even joined the same gym, where Chandni joined as a trainer. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed by the police to investigate the case. The SIT is probing the involvement of a larger network and the possible links to Pakistan and Palestine. The police are also looking for a possible financial trail in the case. What the FIR filed by Ayush’s family states Ayush Malik’s family suspects foul play behind the religious conversion of their son. His father, Devraj Malik, is a prominent pharmaceutical businessman in the area, having a medical store and several showrooms. His family believes that Chandni Qureshi and her family had their eyes on Ayush’s wealth, and this is the reason they brainwashed and converted Ayush Malik to grab his wealth. An FIR was registered by the police in connection with the case on 6th June based on a complaint filed by Ayush’s father, Devraj Malik. Source: UP Police As per the FIR accessed by OpIndia, Ayush’s father said that Chandni Qureshi plotted with her sisters, Rahil Qureshi, Sumaila Qureshi, Rabia Qureshi, brother Aas Mohammad alias Aasoo Qureshi, father Islam Qureshi alias Niddu, Huma Qureshi, her wife of Shadab, Salim alias Bhola and a Maulana named Munavvar to trap Ayush Malik. She lured their only son into a relationship, blackmailed him, and forced him to convert to Islam. All these people have been named as accused in the FIR filed under Sections 318(4), 336(3), 338, 61(2), 351(3), 308(5) of the BNS and Sections 3 and 5 of Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. Source: UP Police According to Devraj Malik, Chandni’s family members and relatives were involved in the 2013 Muzzaffarnagar riots. They said Chandni Qureshi’s family has been making undue demands from Ayush Malik, using a fake Nikahnama that was prepared 4 years ago. The FIR states that Chandni’s family also exerted pressure on Ayush’s family to adopt Islam. When they refused, her family members, along with some other Muslims, threatened to kill the entire family. Ayush’s father further said that Chandni and her family have been misappropriating the earnings of his son for the past 5 years. He added that they even built a house using his money and continue to derive illegal financial benefits from him. Ayush’s father suggested the involvement of some outsiders in the conspiracy to trap his son. Source: UP Police The FIR states that the accused people intend to usurp his property, and for this end, they have hatched the entire conspiracy. It further states that Ayush’s family has been receiving constant death threats from the accused for refusing to convert to Islam. Ayush’s father has demanded protection for his family from the police, considering the threat from the accused and their associates. Ayush Malik says he is not brainwashed, voluntarily converted to Islam While his family maintains that Ayush Malik was targeted and brainwashed into converting to Islam by Chandni Qureshi and her family, Ayush, who is now Mohammad Ali, claims that he converted out of his own free will. Speaking to the media on Monday (8th June), he said that he has been practising Islam since 2008. However, he kept his conversion and Nikah hidden from everyone, including his family, not to adversely affect the marriage prospects of his sisters. He informed his family about his conversion and Nikah after his sisters got married. According to Ayush, he used to watch the videos of Pakistani Islamic scholar Dr Israr Ahmed and was deeply influenced by the Islamic ideology. He said that he started watching the videos at a time when he was going through mental and health-related issues and found them comforting. Ayush said that he found Dr Israr Ahmed’s teachings convincing and that he did not come across any counter to them. He rejects the claims of being brainwashed and blackmailed into converting to Islam. Regarding the FIR filed by his father, Ayush said that his father acted out of social pressure. Speaking about Chandni Qureshi, Ayush said that he met her in a physiotherapy centre, which he visited after suffering a fracture in his shoulder. Chandni worked there as a physiotherapist. He said that he was not aware of her religion at that time and found out later that she was a Muslim. They grew close and eventually got married. Left media jumps in to defend Ayush’s conversion The incident has sparked a countrywide debate regarding the issue of religious conversion, which in recent times has emerged as a growing threat. While Ayush’s grieving family believes that their only son has been trapped and brainwashed into converting to Islam, the Left media has found an opportunity to peddle their agenda. Left media website Newslaundry has passed a judgment in the case even before the case went into trial. An article was published on the website justifying and defending Ayush Malik’s religious conversion while the matter is under investigation. The article cites Ayush Malik’s statements, where he said that he converted to Islam of his own will and that he was not brainwashed, to claim that the case has been unnecessarily hyped by the media. The left propaganda website fails to grasp the basic logic, assuming that Ayush’s family’s claims regarding his brainwashing are true, that a brainwashed individual wouldn’t know that he is brainwashed. If he was so aware of his mental state, he wouldn’t be brainwashed in the first place. Notably, propaganda websites like Newslaundry do not show the same zeal in defending the cases where the religious conversion happens the other way round. Besides, hundreds of cases of targeted religious conversion of young Hindu men and women have come to light recently. Investigation into several such cases revealed the involvement of foreign funding and networks. Therefore, the concerns of Ayush Malik’s family, whose only son and heir has left the Hindu fold, cannot be dismissed as baseless.