Mumbai’s transgender spiritual leader with over 300 followers turns out to be a Bangladeshi national living under forged identity for 30 years
Jyoti, a transgender, is also known as Guru Maa. Pic/By Special Arrangement
In the bustling lanes of eastern Mumbai, where followers once lined up outside her modest home for blessings, Jyoti, a transgender “Guru Maa” with over 300 devoted disciples, was living a secret life. When Mumbai Police began probing her background, Babu Ayan Khan alias Jyoti was found to be a Bangladeshi national who had been living in the city illegally for more than three decades.
Police said Jyoti had allegedly procured forged Indian birth and identity certificates to claim citizenship. However, when the documents were sent for verification, they were found to be fake, leading to her arrest. Officers said Jyoti’s arrest followed multiple complaints and five earlier cases related to assault and public disturbances registered at Shivaji Nagar, Narpoli, Deonar, Trombay, and Kurla police stations. She also allegedly owned more than 20 houses in Rafique Nagar, Govandi, where followers gathered regularly for rituals and blessings.
When word of her arrest spread, dozens of her followers crowded outside the Shivaji Nagar police station, demanding her release. Police, however, have charged her under foreign nationals and immigration laws, as well as for forgery and cheating, while investigating how she managed to obtain fake Indian documents.
According to the Shivaji Nagar police, the Anti-Terrorism Cell (ATAC) team had earlier arrested eight Bangladeshi transgender individuals from the Rafiq Nagar area of Shivaji Nagar on March 24. During that operation, Jyoti was also detained but claimed to be an Indian citizen, presenting an Aadhaar card, PAN card, and a birth certificate as proof of nationality.
Senior Police Inspector Anagha Satavase said that upon verification, the documents submitted by Jyoti were found to be forged, following which she was arrested on Friday. The complainant in the case, Police Officer Vipin Nikam, attached to the ATC unit of the Shivaji Nagar Police Station, had earlier arrested eight Bangladeshi nationals — identified as Baisakhi Shahabuddin Khan, Ridoy Mia Pakhi, Marukh Iqbal Dhali, Shantakant Wahid Khan, Varsha Kobir Khan, Afzal Mojanur Hussain, Mizanur Ibrahim Kolil, and Shahadat Amir Ali — from near the Babe Rehmat Mosque in Rafiq Nagar.
Police Sub-Inspector DV Malvekar said a case has been registered against Jyoti under the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1950; the Foreigners Order, 1948; and the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Jyoti is currently in police custody, police said.
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