Case Summary

In the Babura village of Jaunpur district, Uttar Pradesh, Hindu villagers were lured, offered inducements and threatened with religious conversion by Christian individuals. The incident came to light when Bajrang Dal workers led by district convener Satya Shukla reached the location following information about a gathering where conversions were being conducted. Satya Shukla submitted a written complaint to Inspector-in-Charge Shesh Kumar Shukla, stating that Pramod Sharma, a member of his organisation, had been ill for a long time and was not getting any relief despite treatment. During this time, Pramod Sharma came into contact with Rajesh Kumar alias Sonu Gautam, a resident of Badlapur, who persuaded him to attend a prayer meeting, claiming it would cure his illness. The prayer meeting was conducted by Harikesh Gautam and Vinod Yadav, alias Mindra. During the prayer meeting, Hindu villagers were encouraged to convert to Christianity. They were also subjected to threats and inducements for religious conversion, claiming that anyone not taking refuge in Jesus would remain troubled and continue to suffer from misery and poverty. According to Satya Shukla, when they arrived at the location, several men and women were present at the scene. Upon verifying the situation, the police were alerted through Dial 112. As the police team arrived, individuals present at the gathering fled the scene in haste, leading to chaos, while leaving behind multiple motorcycles and other materials. Police recovered around half a dozen bikes from the spot and detained several men and women for questioning, including a group of women reportedly present at the gathering. Subsequently, an FIR was registered against eight named individuals: Rajesh Gautam alias Sonu, his wife Nisha, Harikesh Gautam, Manju, Sheela Gautam, Pramod Maurya, Vikas Maurya, and Vinod Yadav alias Mintu. During the course of the incident, Vinod Yadav left behind a Bullet motorcycle and a Bible before fleeing along with others. Two individuals described as pastors were among those who absconded from the scene. As of the date of writing this report, the investigation was ongoing.

Case Images

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case is added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. The sub-category selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. 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. The other sub-category selected is- Conversion/attempts to convert by inducements. 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 sub-category selected 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. 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. This case has been added to the tracker because in the Babura village of Jaunpur district, Uttar Pradesh, Hindu villagers were lured, offered inducements and threatened with religious conversion by Christian individuals. Firstly, Pramod Sharma was lured by the accused under the guise of a prayer meeting, under the pretext that it would cure his illness. In such cases, what is presented as a simple prayer gathering is in reality a covert attempt at religious conversion. These were not genuine community prayers but calculated efforts to exploit the trust of Hindus and manipulate them into abandoning their faith. Furthermore, the Changai Sabha format, often described publicly as a faith healing gathering, is a well-recognised tool in organised Christian proselytisation networks. These meetings usually employ songs, testimonies and emotionally charged prayer sessions to influence and induce vulnerable individuals without openly declaring the underlying objective. The absence of transparency is itself central to the method. People attend believing they are seeking comfort, healing or spiritual support, only to be gradually drawn into teachings that undermine their own religious identity and introduce them to the Christian framework presented as the only path to relief. Secondly, the perpetrators also offered inducements to convert Hindu villagers. Offering incentives or making false promises, especially when directed at vulnerable individuals in need, shows that these incentives are not acts of kindness or charity. Instead, they are calculated moves to exploit vulnerable Hindus because of religion. By providing inducements or promising healing in exchange for conversion, the accused were effectively blackmailing those who might have been desperate for assistance or hope. Such instances are seen in many cases where members of Christian missionary groups target socially and economically vulnerable Hindus to further their agenda of religious conversions. This form of coercion strips people of their agency and dignity and results in coerced conversions. These are not random or isolated incidents, but rather cases deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims. Thirdly, it was also revealed that the perpetrators also threatened the victims in order to convert them to Christianity. Pressuring a Hindu individual to discard his religious faith and embrace another is a direct attack on his religious identity and dignity. It is not a matter of personal choice; it is coercion rooted in hostility towards the victim's Hindu identity. Such an attempt reflects religious animosity because the act is not simply about personal differences but about erasing the victim’s Hindu faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. Fourth, one of the perpetrators, Vinod Yadav, left a bible before fleeing the scene. Thus, the Christian perpetrators were also actively attempting to indoctrinate the Hindu victims by using Christian religious texts and literature. Using the scriptures or literature of one faith to deliberately target and manipulate members of another, with the clear intention of religious conversion, represents a direct attack on the Hindu faith. Such actions are designed to violate and undermine the beliefs of Hindu victims and are clear indicators of religious hostility towards Hindus and their religious identity. The Christian faith, by its very theological foundations, places a strong emphasis on proselytisation. In pursuit of conversion objectives, Christian evangelists often employ unethical means, ranging from psychological pressure and misinformation to inducements such as money or jobs. These tactics are designed not as acts of charity but as tools to engineer religious change under the guise of social upliftment, particularly among vulnerable and underprivileged communities. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker acknowledges that multiple individuals were targeted for religious conversion in this incident. However, as only one individual, Pramod Sharma, has been explicitly identified in available reports, the victim count has been conservatively recorded as one.