Modinagar police bust Christian conversion gang promising medical treatment, employment to Hindus
Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India 
10 October, 2024
Case Summary
Modinagar police uncovered a large-scale conversion gang, arresting four individuals accused of pressuring people to adopt Christianity through promises of medical treatment, employment, and marriage. Initial investigations suggested that over a hundred people may have been converted through these tactics. The investigation began when Sangeeta, a resident of Vijaynagar Colony, filed a complaint stating that her relatives, including her brother-in-law's son Ashu, mother-in-law Ashrafi, and father-in-law Kishanpal, were pressuring her to convert to Christianity and threatened her with violence upon refusal. After police detained Ashu for questioning, a man named Polu Masih, accompanied by Pastor Rasi Baliyar and Chhuttu Kumar Shah, came to the police station in his defence. Police investigations revealed ties between the suspects and an organisation based in Kanpur, New Life Fellowship Church, linked to People of Christ, a Rajasthan-based group. Notably, three days prior, Nandgram police arrested five individuals, including PTI Gerald Mathews Massey of the Graham Institute, after finding substantial evidence on Massey’s mobile, indicating large-scale conversion activities associated with the Kanpur-based organisation.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case can be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime aligning with the category of 'Predatory Proselytisation' of the tracker. Further, as the details, two sub-categories of the above-mentioned category have been selected here. The first 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 second sub-category relevant here is- Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. In this subcategory, we would only include cases where the victim was harassed, threatened or coerced to convert. Cases where attempts were made to convert but the victim resisted would be documented in another sub-category. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The Modinagar case exemplifies a religiously motivated hate crime categorized under 'Predatory Proselytisation,' reflecting the calculated efforts of individuals and organizations to convert vulnerable populations through inducements and coercive tactics. The first sub-category, "Conversion/attempts to convert by inducement," is evident in the methods employed by the accused, who allegedly offered promises of medical treatment, employment, and marriage to entice individuals into adopting Christianity. These inducements exploit the socio-economic hardships faced by the victims, revealing a predatory approach aimed at manipulating their circumstances for conversion purposes. Furthermore, the second sub-category, "Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion," is highlighted by the pressure exerted on Sangeeta and her family members, particularly through threats of violence if they resisted the conversion attempts. This element of coercion underscores a deeper animosity toward the victims' Hindu identity which is why this case has been added here. Notably, given the lack of clarity on how many villagers may have been influenced by the conversion efforts and whether those who did convert did so willingly or under coercion, for accuracy, we are currently recognizing only the young man who reported coercion as the confirmed victim in this instance.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 1
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
