Christian evangelist convert people through various allurements like financial assistance, help with diseases, and support for their children's education
Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India 
4 August, 2024
Case Summary
In Bharatpur, Rajasthan, a case of religious conversion created a stir. Reports surfaced that people were being lured with 5 to 10 thousand rupees to convert to Christianity in the Sevar police station area. The conversion was happening secretly in a house in Laxman Das Colony, where a centre was set up to promote Christianity. Upon receiving information from concerned locals, the police arrived at the scene and found over a hundred people attending a prayer meeting. It was reported that attendees were being motivated to convert by promises of financial assistance, help with diseases, and support for their children's education. The police detained two individuals, Naresh Kumar and Bhagwan Sahay, who were leading the Christian preaching at the centre. These men, reportedly from Delhi, had rented the house to run their operations. Materials related to Christianity were seized from the site, and a case was registered against a dozen people, accusing them of coercing others into conversion.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the hate tracker under the prime category- Predatory Proselytisation. Further, as per case details, the sub-category selected under the abovementioned prime category is- conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement. Predatory Proselytisation is not just limited to threat, harassment, force and violence, but it also has contours of stealth. In several cases, the Hindu victim is exploited to convert, with non-Hindus taking advantage of their poverty. In such cases, the Hindu victim who is suffering financially is offered monetary benefits, including lucrative offers for jobs, health treatment, education, etc, to induce the victim into changing his/her religion. In such cases, the religious identity of the victim and the aim to disenfranchise him from his faith form the heart of the crime. Also, taking advantage of and exploiting an individual’s economic vulnerabilities is widely acknowledged as exploitation, forms of which are often penalised by law. Such cases therefore are considered religiously motivated hate crimes since the victim’s religious identity forms the very heart of the crime itself. In this particular case, the Christian evangelists were overtly trying to convert by exploiting a specific vulnerability of the victims who were in all likelihood economically backward. The missionaries exploited the poor victims by offering them money and promising them cures for their ailments - a cure that they either could not afford or for incurable diseases. Since exploiting vulnerabilities for the explicit purpose of conversion is purely based on animosity towards the victim's faith, this case has been categorised as a religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer: The details of this case reveal that the police found over 100 people attending the conversion program, however, since it does not mention the exact number of victims, we have conservatively added 100 as the victim counts in the database.
Victim Details
Total Victim
100
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 100
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 100
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 100
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
