The highly complex religious conversion case in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district has taken a dramatic and unexpected new turn. Ayush Malik, a young man who had previously converted to Islam and officially renamed himself Mohammad Ali after being brainwashed by a female Muslim gym trainer named Chandni Qureshi, has now formally returned to Hinduism.

After successfully reaching his family home on Monday, 29th June, Malik released a public video message confirming that while he had converted to Islam earlier, he had now firmly decided to return to Sanatan Dharma.

In the emotional video footage, Ayush openly apologized to his parents and his extended relatives for his previous actions. Addressing his mother directly, he stated, "Mother, seeing your pain, I have come back to my original religion, Hindu Dharma, of my own choice. Please forgive me." He further expressed his deeply personal desires for the future, explicitly stating that he now wants to spend his life under the love and care of his parents.

Sacred Rituals Mark a Son's Homecoming

Soon after coming back to his ancestral residence, Ayush offered traditional prayers at the temple located inside his house. Reclaiming his original heritage, he lit a ritual lamp for the aarti, carefully applied a sacred tilak to Lord Hanuman, and sought blessings from his mother by touching her feet in reverence. His family members have explicitly stated that he returned to Hinduism truly from the heart and completely without any external pressure.

Ayush is the only son of Shamli-based medicine trader Devraj Malik. Following his initial conversion to Islam, he had completely changed his name to Mohammad Ali. He had also started offering namaz, kept a traditional beard, wore a cap, and had completely stopped living with his family.

Legal Machinery Ignited Over Secret Marriage and Coerced Conversion

The backstory reveals that Ayush had married gym trainer Chandni Qureshi around five years ago. His family strongly asserts that Chandni systematically influenced him to change his religion because of money and property motives. They also claim that immediately after the conversion, Ayush became deeply distant from his family.

The matter escalated into a formal legal battle and reached the police after Devraj Malik filed an official complaint, stating that his son’s conversion was not done willingly and that some people wanted to take control of Ayush’s property by drawing him into a targeted love trap.

Following the registration of the complaint, the local police registered an FIR against 11 people, including three maulanas, at the city police station. As part of the ongoing investigation, the police arrested Chandni Qureshi and her father, Islam Qureshi. The investigation into the case is still actively underway.

A video circulating widely on social media purportedly shows Malik, who is currently in his 20s, actively performing Hindu rituals at his residence along with his parents, even as the official police probe into his conversion continues.

In the video, he explains that he had originally embraced Islam for the woman he loved but has now made the definitive decision to return to Hinduism after seeing exactly how much pain his move had caused his family. He is also seen apologizing to his parents and speaking emotionally about staying with them.

Yashveer Maharaj of Yog Sadhana Ashram, who had initially raised the issue publicly, confirmed Malik’s reconversion to the public.

"Ajay Malik has returned to the Hindu faith and has resumed worship at his home. He also removed all articles associated with the Muslim faith from his house," Yashveer Maharaj said.

He also claimed that a public campaign launched over the contentious issue has succeeded with Malik’s return to Hinduism, calling the outcome a true victory for the family after weeks of sheer anguish.

The development comes weeks after the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested physiotherapist Chandni Qureshi and her father, Islam Qureshi, following a complaint filed by Devaraj Malik under the strict legal provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.

The Evolution of Ayush's Radical Transformation

According to the official complaint, Ayush, a Bachelor of Pharmacy graduate who helped run his family’s medical store, first met Chandni in 2018 while receiving treatment for a leg injury at a hospital in Shamli.

Police officials stated that the two later developed a close relationship, after which Chandni and multiple members of her family allegedly influenced him to convert to Islam.

The FIR explicitly alleges that Ayush was taken to Delhi in 2023, where he converted to Islam and officially adopted the name Mohammad Ali. It also claims that a nikah ceremony was performed in Delhi. However, police investigators have stated that they have not recovered any valid marriage certificate during the course of the investigation.

Investigators have also claimed that after the conversion, Ayush began strictly following Islamic religious practices, including offering five daily prayers, growing a beard, and entirely changing his style of dress.

Devaraj Malik has alleged that the conversion was part of a larger, coordinated conspiracy to gain total control of the family’s business property, which he claims is worth several crores of rupees.

Police arrested four people, including Chandni Qureshi and her father, on June 7. The FIR named nine people under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita covering extortion, cheating, forgery, and criminal intimidation, besides the anti-conversion law, and a Special Investigation Team was formed to probe the case.