Hindus manipulated and brainwashed for religious conversion by Christian man in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh

Case ID : 30a7a9e | Location : Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 4 April, 2026

Case ID : 30a7a9e

Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, India

4 April, 2026

Hindus manipulated and brainwashed for religious conversion by Christian man in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh

Predatory Proselytisation

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Case Summary

In Bhavpurwa, a hamlet of Sakheda village in the Sandi police station area, in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh, Hindus were targeted for forced Christian conversions through manipulation and brainwashing. The victims were promised miracles and superstitious benefits if they converted to Christianity. In this matter, a complaint was filed by Vaibhav Shukla, a resident of Munshi Ganj locality in Sandi town. The Christian accused was identified as Lal Singh alias Lalu. Vaibhav Shukla told the police in his complaint that he received information on March 5, 2026, at around 12:30 pm, that Lal Singh alias Lalu, a resident of Majra Bhavpurwa of village Sakheda, was misleading Hindus to convert to Christianity. According to Shukla, the accused was holding a candlelight vigil and was carrying a book resembling the Bible, which was used for religious indoctrination of the Hindu attendees. When Shukla spoke with the accused over the phone, Lalu attempted to convert him to Christianity by claiming that converting to Christianity would benefit his business. Bajrang Dal youth activists Shekhar Rawat, Sonu Kashyap, and Shivam Rajput arrived at the scene and found the accused sitting on a stool with a lit candle, praying with his head bowed, and claiming a miracle. When these workers tried to film the scene, the accused attempted to snatch their mobile phones and threatened them. Reports confirmed that Inspector-in-Charge Vasant Ram stated that a case was registered against Lal Singh based on Vaibhav Shukla's complaint, and the matter was being investigated.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category selected in this case is- Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory 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. 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 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. This case stands as a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime, where a Christian man organised candlelight vigils to brainwash and manipulate Hindus into converting to Christianity under the pretext of miracles. These insidious tactics preyed on vulnerable members of the Hindu community, promising supernatural favours to erode their faith, and exposed the perpetrator's deep animosity towards Hinduism and its followers. Conversion through such coercion stripped Hindus of their religious autonomy and identity, reducing their sacred beliefs to mere bargaining chips. Hindu families who had cherished their ancient traditions were suddenly coerced into abandoning them; this was not a gentle persuasion but a vicious assault on their spiritual core, marking it unequivocally as hatred driven by religious prejudice. The perpetrator carried a book resembling the Bible to these vigils, actively using Christian religious texts to indoctrinate Hindu victims. Thrusting scriptures from one faith upon believers of another with the explicit aim of forced conversion represented a direct attack on Hinduism itself. These actions violated the core beliefs of Hindu victims and signalled outright hostility towards their religious identity. Far from a lone act of evangelism, this formed part of a broader, organised push for conversions, exploiting trust to sow doubt and misrepresent Hindu teachings in a systematic bid to dismantle their faith. Such deliberate weaponisation of religious literature turned indoctrination into a calculated offence rooted in prejudice. The perpetrator further lured Hindus with inducements, brazenly claiming that converting to Christianity would boost their business prospects. This was not charity but raw manipulation dressed as an incentive, emotionally blackmailing those in economic distress to forsake their religious identity and cultural heritage for false promises of prosperity. Christian groups have long targeted vulnerable Hindus this way, preying on their hardships to enforce conversions that rob them of dignity and agency. These premeditated ploys stemmed from profound contempt for Hinduism, pressuring devotees to discard their beliefs and submit to the Christian faith, which cemented the crime as one fuelled by religious animosity. Such targeted proselytisation arises from deep-seated hatred towards the Hindu faith, as Abrahamic doctrines often dehumanise non-believers until they convert, viewing Hindus as inferior beings. This dehumanising mindset transforms the vigils into a hate crime, where the Hindu identities of the victims are the explicit target. Given that this case meets several parameters of a religiously motivated hate crime, it is added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: In this case, the victim count was recorded as '1', referring to Vaibhav Shukla. Even though media reports stated that several Hindus were targeted for conversion, the total number of victims was not specified. Vaibhav Shukla was identified as one of the victims, as he was lured to convert to Christianity when the accused claimed that conversion would benefit his business. Hence, for documentation purposes, a conservative victim count of '1' was selected in this case, despite the total number of victims being higher.