Hindus lured with inducements and false promises of 'curing' illness for forced religious conversion in Bihar
Patna, Bihar, India 
30 December, 2025
Case Summary
In Bibiganj police station area of Patna, Bihar, Hindus from the Dalit community faced targeting for forced religious conversion by a full-fledged conversion gang. The accused lured Hindus with various inducements and made false promises of curing diseases to convert innocent victims. According to media reports, the incident came to light when local Hindus raised the issue, stating that the conversion gang operated actively in Dalit settlements, exploiting the poverty and illness of the people and instigating them to convert to another religion. Seeing the seriousness of the matter, the locals lodged a written complaint at Danapur police station, after which the police started an investigation. Local residents Shashi Kumar, Devendra Chaudhary, Tinku Kumar and Sanjay Ram told the police that suspicious activities increased in the settlements near Bibiganj Ambedkar Bhawan and the surrounding areas for the last few months. Men and women from a particular community went door-to-door to set up camps. They claimed that converting to their religion (a non-Hindu religion) cured incurable diseases. Furthermore, they lured unemployed Dalit Hindus with jobs and the poor with money. In this way, they forcibly converted several Hindus to their faith. Prashant Bhardwaj, Police Station Officer, said that a written complaint was lodged by local residents. The matter underwent a strict investigation. Based on the facts revealed in the investigation, strict legal action would be taken against the accused.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in this case is- Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected 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. The other subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary category selected is- Pattern of targeting Hindus. 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 grooming or 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 grooming or 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 case, Hindus from the Dalit community faced luring with various incentives and manipulation to convert to another faith by an organised conversion gang. The nature of the conversion efforts and the wider impact on the Hindu community all indicated a targeted action against Hindus as a collectivity. When individuals or groups focused their efforts on converting members of a particular religion, they demonstrated a fundamental disregard for the Hindu faith. Conversion, especially when not based on personal conviction but rather on external persuasion or pressure, constituted not simply sharing a different belief system. It amounted to an attempt to undermine the values, traditions, and identity of the Hindu community. In this context, the perpetrators specifically targeted Hindus, which suggested a lack of respect for Hinduism and its followers. Such actions stripped Hindu victims of their faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. The use of incentives like money, jobs and false promises of curing diseases to encourage religious conversion clearly demonstrated that these actions stemmed not from kindness or charity. Instead, they represented calculated attempts to exploit vulnerable Hindus specifically because of their religion. By providing inducements to Hindus to change their faith, the perpetrators effectively emotionally blackmailed those Hindus who might have despaired of assistance. This form of coercion stripped Hindus of their agency and dignity and enforced forced conversions. These constituted not random or isolated incidents, but rather premeditated efforts to undermine the Hindu faith, persuade Hindus to discard their own faith, and convert to another faith. Such acts are rooted deeply in religious animosity towards Hindu victims, making it a religiously motivated crime. The accused weaponised false claims of curing diseases through religious conversion, deploying this as a cynical manipulation tactic to target vulnerable Hindus and force them to convert to another faith. This ploy preyed on the desperation of sick and impoverished Hindus, sowing confusion and false hope to erode their faith. Such calculated deception, promising miracles in exchange for abandoning Hinduism, exposed deep-seated religious animosity, treating Hindu victims as expendable targets for proselytisation. By exploiting physical and economic vulnerabilities to strip Hindus of their identity, the perpetrators orchestrated forced conversions, cementing this as a blatant, religiously motivated crime. Furthermore, the acts occurred for several weeks, showcasing that this stood not as an isolated incident but a well-calculated, premeditated effort to convert several Hindus, making it a religiously motivated crime. By focusing specifically on Hindus, these perpetrators profiled vulnerable individuals and worked systematically to erase their Hindu identity. The repeated nature of these actions revealed a deliberate intent to disrupt the cultural fabric and faith of the community, leaving the victims exposed to ongoing pressure and exploitation. In this case, even though the religious identity of the perpetrators remained unknown, their actions demonstrated a religiously motivated crime. Therefore, this case is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the dates of incidents based on when the crime occurs, rather than when the media reports it. However, in this particular case, media reports did not specify the exact date when the victims' ordeal began. Henceforth, for the purpose of documenting this crime, we considered the date the media reported it, that is, 30 December 2025, as the indicative date of the incident. This date is recorded for documentation purposes only.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
