Hindu Dalit woman, her husband and minor son pressured to abandon faith and convert to Islam, threatened with death to comply

Case ID : 30a83f1 | Location : Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 7 May, 2026

Case ID : 30a83f1

Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh, India

7 May, 2026

Hindu Dalit woman, her husband and minor son pressured to abandon faith and convert to Islam, threatened with death to comply

Predatory Proselytisation

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Conversion of minor

Family claims grooming

Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion

Case Summary

A Hindu Dalit woman and her minor son from Rajgarh district, Madhya Pradesh, became victims of sustained pressure to abandon their Hindu faith and convert to Islam. The Hindu Dalit family faced intimidation, coercion, and threats, which later resulted in criminal proceedings under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021. The case escalated after the accused attempted to stop the proceedings through the High Court. The Madhya Pradesh High Court ultimately refused to quash the case and allowed the criminal trial to continue. The incident emerged from Jeerapur police station limits in Rajgarh district, Madhya Pradesh. Criminal proceedings were initiated in Crime No. 481/2023 after complaints surfaced regarding pressure being exerted on a Hindu family to convert to Islam. The case specifically involved a Hindu woman and her minor son, who were subjected to coercion connected to religious conversion. During the investigation, statements of the Hindu complainant and her minor son, Prince, were recorded by investigators on 18th December 2023. The investigation found material showing that the Hindu family had been pressured to abandon their religion and convert to Islam. Witness statements collected during the investigation also supported the version presented by the Hindu family. The investigation further established that the perpetrator, Hemraj Tailor, played a role in influencing and pressurising the Hindu complainant’s husband for conversion to Islam. The pressure extended beyond ideological persuasion and involved intimidation and threats directed towards the Hindu family. The complainant stated that the family was threatened with death during the course of the coercion. Following the investigation, proceedings were initiated under Sections 3 and 5 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021, as well as Sections 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. The criminal case accused the perpetrator of targeting the Hindu family’s religious identity and attempting to force religious conversion through intimidation and pressure. After the filing of the criminal case, Hemraj Tailor approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking the quashing of the First Information Report and termination of the criminal proceedings. The petition argued that there was insufficient evidence against him and challenged the continuation of proceedings under the Freedom of Religion Act. During the hearing before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the State opposed the petition and relied on witness statements, including those of the Hindu complainant and her minor son. The prosecution argued that the material gathered during the investigation clearly disclosed the role of the accused in pressurising the Hindu family for religious conversion and justified the continuation of the trial proceedings. Justice Sandeep N. Bhatt examined the case material, including witness testimonies and investigation records. The Court observed that the allegations involving pressure upon a Hindu woman and her minor son for conversion to Islam were serious in nature and could not be dismissed at the preliminary stage. The Court further noted that disputed factual issues could only be properly examined during trial after evidence and cross-examination. On 29th April 2026, the Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed the petition seeking to quash the criminal proceedings. The Court held that prima facie material existed against the accused and that continuation of proceedings could not be treated as an abuse of process. The Court permitted the criminal trial to proceed before the competent court under the provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act and other applicable laws.

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 - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Under this, the tertiary categories selected are - Conversion of minor, and Family claims grooming. 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 in this case 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 crime. This case qualified as a religiously motivated hate crime because a Dalit Hindu family was deliberately targeted and pressured to abandon Hinduism and convert to Islam. The perpetrators did not engage with the family on the basis of a personal dispute or ordinary disagreement. The pressure centred specifically on changing the religious identity of the Hindu victims and replacing their Hindu faith with Islam. The intimidation, coercion, involvement of a minor child, and continued pressure upon the Dalit Hindu family demonstrated a deliberate attempt to exploit the vulnerability of a marginalised Hindu household in order to erase its religious identity. The first religious marker emerged through the sustained effort to pressure the Dalit Hindu family into converting to Islam. The Hindu woman, her husband, and their family were subjected to coercion intended to make them abandon Hinduism and adopt another religion. This was religiously significant because religion itself was the central object of the targeting. The perpetrators did not seek money, property, or any unrelated personal benefit. They specifically focused on changing the faith of the Dalit Hindu family and interfering with their right to continue practising Hinduism. The pressure exerted upon the family demonstrated a conscious attempt to weaken their attachment to their ancestral faith and push them towards religious conversion through manipulation and sustained psychological pressure. The fact that the victims belonged to a Scheduled Caste community further heightened the seriousness of the targeting, as the perpetrators focused on a socially vulnerable Hindu family whose economic and social position could be more easily exploited through intimidation and coercion. This revealed deliberate intent to target the family because they were Hindus and to alter their religious identity through coercive methods that attacked the foundation of their spiritual and cultural life. The second religious marker emerged through the targeting of the Dalit Hindu family’s minor son for religious conversion. Investigation records and witness statements confirmed that pressure was not limited to the adult members of the household but also extended to the child. This was religiously significant because a minor child is especially vulnerable to religious manipulation and coercive influence. The perpetrators consciously chose to involve the Hindu family’s son in the conversion pressure, demonstrating that the objective extended beyond influencing one individual and instead aimed at transforming the religious identity of the next generation of the Dalit Hindu family. By targeting the child alongside the adults, the perpetrators attempted to sever the continuation of Hindu traditions, beliefs, and practices within the household itself. The involvement of a child from a Scheduled Caste Hindu family also demonstrated an attempt to exploit the vulnerability of a socially marginalised household and impose religious transformation upon an entire family unit. This revealed deliberate intent to interfere with the long-term religious continuity of a Hindu family and showed that the conversion pressure was systematic rather than incidental. Essentially, the statements and testimony presented by the Dalit Hindu family during the investigation, such as the Hindu complainant and her minor son, consistently described the pressure, coercion, and attempts to force religious conversion. Witness statements collected during the investigation also supported the version presented by the Hindu family. This was religiously significant because the testimony consistently centred on pressure to abandon Hinduism and adopt Islam. The investigation did not uncover a random interpersonal conflict disconnected from religion. Instead, the statements repeatedly established that the family’s Hindu identity was the focus of the coercive conduct. The perpetrators deliberately subjected the Dalit Hindu family to sustained pressure intended to break resistance and normalise conversion through intimidation and manipulation. The corroboration provided by witnesses further demonstrated that the targeting of the family’s Hindu faith was systematic and recognised by others aware of the events. The other religious marker emerged through the threats and intimidation used against the Dalit Hindu family in connection with the conversion pressure. The complainant stated that the family faced threats to force them towards conversion to Islam. This was religiously significant because the threats were directly tied to changing the religious identity of the victims. The perpetrators consciously used fear, intimidation, and coercion as instruments to compel the Hindu family to abandon their faith. The use of threats transformed the incident from ideological persuasion into religious persecution directed against vulnerable Hindu victims. In conclusion, the entire process demonstrated intent not merely to influence but to forcibly reshape the religious identity of the Hindu family through coercive means. The threats revealed hostility towards the family’s continued adherence to Hinduism and showed that the perpetrators viewed the Hindu faith itself as something to be eliminated and replaced. 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 exact date on which the coercion and pressure for religious conversion of the Hindu family began could not be independently confirmed from the available sources. The investigation and court records confirmed that the conversion pressure formed part of an ongoing course of conduct prior to registration of the criminal case. For documentation purposes, 8th May 2026, the publication date of the report concerning the High Court proceedings was used as the indicative incident date by the tracker. This date was recorded for documentation purposes only.