Hindu men and women targeted and lured through organised conversion attempts, inducement and repeated brainwashing by Christian missionaries
Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
19 April, 2026
Case Summary
In Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Hindu men and women belonging to the SC/ST community, were targeted and drawn into repeated gatherings under the guise of prayer meetings. They were offered inducements and subjected to sustained attempts to convert them away from their religion and into Christianity. The activities took place over a period of time, creating growing concern among local Hindu residents. The situation escalated when a gathering held on 19th April 2026 came under direct scrutiny. For an extended period, economically vulnerable Hindu men and women from villages under the Puwaiyan area were invited every Sunday to prayer meetings organised at the residence of Ahiwaranlal alias Guddu in village Pakriya Hakim. These gatherings were presented as religious or healing meetings. During these meetings, Hindu attendees were shown videos, literature, and images related to Christianity. They were told that adopting Christianity would bring them financial assistance and relief from their hardships. The Hindu victims were specifically selected from economically weaker sections, including individuals from Scheduled Castes and uneducated backgrounds. The perpetrators repeatedly targeted them with promises of money and support. These inducements were presented alongside religious messaging, creating sustained pressure on the Hindu attendees to abandon their faith. The meetings were organised jointly by individuals identified as Namdweep, Rachin, and Binderlal, who coordinated the gatherings and messaging. On 19th April 2026, a large gathering was organised at the same location. A large screen was installed inside the premises, and visual material was displayed to the Hindu attendees. The content shown during the gathering was aimed at influencing them towards conversion. The Hindu victims present at the meeting were again subjected to persuasion to renounce their religion and accept Christianity, with assurances of financial benefit. Information about these activities reached local Hindu residents, including Saurabh Verma and others, who then went to the location along with several individuals. Upon their arrival, the organisers abruptly ended the gathering. The Hindu attendees present inside were pushed out, and the organisers attempted to disperse and leave the premises. The sequence of events exposed the ongoing nature of the conversion activities being carried out at the site. Further details indicated that the activities were not isolated. The organisers were linked to a wider network, with references made to coordination with individuals and organisations based in Punjab. It was stated that meetings and coordination were conducted through online platforms, including Google Meet, indicating a structured and sustained effort behind the gatherings. Following the incident on 19th April 2026, a formal complaint was submitted by Saurabh Verma and other Hindu individuals. The complaint detailed the repeated targeting of Hindu men and women, the inducements offered, and the organised nature of the gatherings. Acting on the complaint, police registered a case against four individuals connected to the activities. Police arrived at the location and brought several individuals to the station for questioning. Three individuals, including Namdweep, Rachin, and Bateshwar, were detained and later issued challans. The gatherings were halted following the intervention. The police stated that an investigation was underway to examine the extent of the activities, the role of each perpetrator, and the alleged external connections.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category - Predatory proselytisation. Within this, 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 sub-category selected for this case is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Under this the tertiary category 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. This case qualified as a religiously motivated hate crime because Hindu men and women were deliberately targeted, gathered, and subjected to sustained efforts aimed at altering their religious identity through inducement and organised influence. The actions were not isolated or incidental. They were structured, repeated, and directed specifically at Hindus in vulnerable conditions. The methods used, including inducements, repeated engagement, and organised messaging, demonstrated that religion was the central objective of the activity. In the primary religious marker, Hindu men and women were subjected to attempts at conversion through inducement. They were invited to recurring gatherings and promised financial assistance in exchange for adopting Christianity. For economically vulnerable Hindu individuals, financial stability and livelihood are critical concerns. The perpetrators identified this vulnerability and deliberately linked monetary benefit with religious conversion. This was not a general offer of aid. It was conditional upon abandoning their Hindu faith. By attaching material gain to religious change, the perpetrators created a direct exchange between economic relief and religious identity. This demonstrated that the perpetrators knowingly targeted Hindu individuals in a way that would pressure them to give up their religion. The choice to use inducement showed clear intent to exploit vulnerability specifically to alter the religious identity of Hindu victims. In the second religious marker, the Hindu victims were subjected to sustained grooming, manipulation, and indoctrination through repeated prayer meetings. These gatherings were organised every Sunday over a period of time, creating a routine environment of exposure. For Hindu individuals, regular participation in religious or community gatherings carries trust and familiarity. The perpetrators replicated this structure to gradually introduce alternative religious messaging. They used videos, literature, and visual presentations to repeatedly expose the Hindu attendees to Christian beliefs. This was not a one-time interaction. It was a continuous process designed to normalise the messaging and reduce resistance. The deliberate repetition ensured that the Hindu victims were gradually influenced rather than confronted directly. This demonstrated that the perpetrators chose a method of slow conditioning, knowing that sustained exposure would increase the likelihood of conversion. The structured nature of these meetings showed intent to reshape the beliefs of Hindu individuals through controlled and repeated influence. In the third religious marker, there was a clear pattern of targeting Hindus as a group. The gatherings specifically focused on Hindu men and women from economically weaker sections, including individuals from Scheduled Castes and uneducated backgrounds. This pattern is significant because it shows selection, not coincidence. The perpetrators did not approach a mixed or random group. They repeatedly invited Hindu individuals who were more vulnerable to inducement and persuasion. The recurrence of these meetings over time and the consistent focus on the same demographic demonstrated that the targeting was systematic. The involvement of multiple organisers and references to external coordination further reinforced that this was not an isolated effort. The repeated selection of Hindu victims showed that the perpetrators deliberately identified and targeted them as a group for conversion activities. This revealed intent to alter the religious composition of a specific community by focusing on those most susceptible to pressure. Such predatory conversion efforts stem from Abrahamic doctrines like Christianity that view non-believers with disdain until they convert, fostering contempt that manifests in targeted crimes against Hindus. Therefore, this case has been added to the Hinduphobia Tracker's hate crime database. Disclaimer - The exact date of the initial targeting and conversion activities was not specified, as the incidents occurred over a sustained period through repeated Sunday gatherings. The tracker records incident dates based on when the crime occurred rather than when it was reported or published. In this case, 20th April 2026, the article publication date, has been used as the indicative incident date. This date has been recorded for documentation purposes only.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
