Hindu families living in a residential society targeted for conversion; church used school building as cover for sustained conversion campaign
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 
4 May, 2026
Case Summary
Hindu families residing in Krishna Enclave Society, Rajnagar Extension, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, were subjected to covert conversion activity conducted from a secret church operating in the basement of a school building within their residential society. The church had been operating secretly for several years, opening only on Saturdays and Sundays, with Hindu residents being specifically targeted for conversion through its activities under the cover of educational programming. The matter came to light when society resident and former councillor Sanjeev Tyagi was conducting checks at the main gate at around 10 am. Eight to ten individuals arrived in vehicles and stated they were going to Cambridge School. Since the school was on holiday, Tyagi grew suspicious and questioned their purpose. The individuals turned back. Shortly after, people from inside the society came to the gate and objected to the checking. Further questioning revealed that a church was operating in the school's basement and that the arriving individuals had been going there. As soon as the church's presence became known, protests erupted within the society. Hindu Raksha Dal workers, upon receiving information, arrived at the scene and began a formal protest. A large crowd gathered rapidly. The conversion programme that had been underway was shut down. Residents alleged that the church had been operated secretly and that Hinduism had been specifically targeted through its activities, with Hindu residents being induced to convert over a period of several years. Upon receiving information, the Nandgram police station arrived at the scene. By that time, the church operator and associates had already fled. Police entered the basement and found religious posters and messages of Jesus Christ displayed throughout the premises. The basement was sealed as a precautionary measure. Residents continued their dharna [sit-in protest] at the main gate until the evening, demanding action. Assistant Commissioner of Police [ACP] Nandgram Ziauddin Ahmed confirmed that the basement had been sealed, that the church operator was being sought, and that questioning would follow. Cambridge School operator Shivam Gupta stated that the activities in the basement were unrelated to the school and that the school had been operating for approximately three years. Police stated that a thorough investigation was underway and that strict action would be taken if illegal activity was established.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category for this case is "Predatory Proselytisation". The sub-category for this case is "Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation and subtle indoctrination". The tertiary category for this case 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. The operation of a covert church in the basement of a school building within a Hindu residential society was not an opportunistic or spontaneous act. It was a sustained, organised, and deliberately concealed proselytisation operation that had been running for several years within a community of Hindu families. The choice of a school building as the physical cover for the church was not incidental. It exploited the institutional legitimacy and social trust associated with an educational establishment to shield conversion activity from community scrutiny. The operational methodology of the covert church reflects a high degree of premeditation. The premises opened only on Saturdays and Sundays, days on which the school would be closed and its educational function dormant, ensuring that the church's activities would not be visible through the ordinary patterns of school life. The individuals attending the church arrived in vehicles and presented themselves as school visitors when questioned, demonstrating that a cover story had been prepared for use at the point of entry. The rapid departure of the church operator and associates upon the arrival of police further establishes that those running the operation were aware of its illegal character and had prepared an exit strategy. The location of the covert church within a Hindu residential society is the most significant religious marker in this case. Krishna Enclave Society was not a neutral or religiously mixed environment. It was a residential community of Hindu families. The deliberate establishment of a covert conversion operation within that community, sustained over several years, demonstrates that Hindu residential spaces were being infiltrated and used as operational bases for proselytisation targeting their own residents. The residents' allegation that Hinduism was specifically targeted through the church's activities, and that Hindu individuals were induced to convert over a period of years, establishes the directional character of the operation: it was not generic Christian outreach but a targeted campaign against the Hindu identity of a specific residential community. Given that this case met the parameters of a religiously motivated hate crime, the perpetrators' conduct reflected more than unauthorised religious assembly. By establishing and sustaining a covert church within a Hindu residential society under the cover of an educational institution, conducting conversion activities specifically targeting Hindu residents over a period of several years, and concealing the operation through deliberate misrepresentation and careful operational security, their actions demonstrated a calculated and sustained campaign to infiltrate and undermine Hindu religious identity within a defined Hindu community. The Hindu residents of Krishna Enclave Society were targeted specifically because they were Hindu, and the covert methodology was chosen because it would be most effective in gaining access to Hindu families without arousing their suspicion or resistance. This reflects an underlying hostility toward Hindu religious identity that cannot be characterised as anything other than religiously motivated. Given that this case met the parameters of a religiously motivated hate crime, it was added to the hate crime database of the tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the crime occurred, not when it was reported or published. The exact date on which the covert church began operating was not confirmed in the source, though residents stated it had been active for several years. As no other date is mentioned, the date on which the church was discovered and sealed, 3 May 2026, has been used as the primary date of the incident. This was recorded for documentation purposes only.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
