Police uncovers conspiracy to convert Hindu students to Christianity under guise of coaching centre, rescues 11 minor children
Betul, Madhya Pradesh, India 
15 September, 2024
Case Summary
In Betul district, Madhya Pradesh, a conspiracy to convert Hindu students to Christianity under the pretext of coaching was uncovered. Police rescued 11 minor children, aged between 2 and 17, from a coaching centre. Many of the students belonged to the Dalit community. The incident occurred in the Hamdaarpur area, and following a complaint from the Hindu Sena, an FIR was registered against three individuals, including two women, on September 16, 2024. All suspects were taken into custody for interrogation. The coaching centre was run by a woman. Members of the Hindu Sena stated that children were being brainwashed into converting to Christianity. Christian literature and religious books were found at the centre, and it was reported that the students were made to participate in Christian prayers and rituals. The police responded swiftly to the situation and took the children to safety. A priest was also reportedly involved in the case. The police registered the case under the Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Act and SC/ST Act.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under the subcategory: Proselytisation by brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, under the core category of Predatory Proselytisation because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and the deliberate attempt to alienate the victims, who were minors in this case, from their Hindu identity. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. In this specific case, it is evident from the details that the Hindu victims were minors which essentially means that the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully matured, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, especially when they are employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. This makes it challenging for parents, to identify and address instances of religious manipulation in schools or educational institutions like coaching centres, as in this case. Since the underlying offence here is against children of a specific faith and involves subtle tactics of indoctrination, which obviously stems from a bias against the Hindu faith, this case has been documented as a hate crime.
Victim Details
Total Victim
11
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 11
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 11
Age Group
- Minor 11
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
