Hindu residents targeted for forced religious conversion by Christian man in Uttarakhand
Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, India 
15 May, 2026
Case Summary
In the Gadarpur area of Udham Singh Nagar district, Uttarakhand, a Christian convert identified as Rajan Kumar, also known as Rajan Masih, was found to have been involved in illegal religious conversion activities linked to an unauthorised church structure in the area. The matter came to light after complaints were filed against him regarding the illegal construction of a church and his involvement in conversion-related activities targeting local residents. Following the complaint, the administration initiated an inquiry under the supervision of Deputy District Magistrate Richa Singh. A joint investigation conducted by the Revenue Sub-Inspector and Revenue Inspector confirmed that Rajan Kumar, son of Sanjay Kumar and a resident of Chakkarpur Barkheda, had converted to Christianity but continued to retain and use a Scheduled Caste certificate issued in his name. During the investigation, officials also found that he operated social media accounts under the name “Rajan Masih”, reflecting his converted religious identity. The inquiry further established his involvement in religious conversion activities connected to the unauthorised church premises. Administrative records showed that Rajan Kumar had been issued a Scheduled Caste certificate by the Tehsildar of Gadarpur on 14 January 2019. Following the findings of the investigation, the SDM forwarded the inquiry report and supporting documents to the District Magistrate’s office and recommended cancellation of the caste certificate in accordance with Supreme Court guidelines relating to religious conversion and Scheduled Caste status. Officials stated that if the district scrutiny committee approved the recommendation, Rajan Kumar would lose eligibility for Scheduled Caste reservation benefits, government welfare schemes reserved for SC communities, and protections available under the SC/ST Act.
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. 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 was added to the tracker because it involved organised and targeted religious conversion activities directed at local Hindus by a Christian man, who operated an unauthorised church structure. The case reflected a deliberate attempt to influence and alter the religious identity of members of the Hindu community through organised missionary activity conducted outside the bounds of the law. The construction and operation of an unauthorised church structure for such activities further demonstrated the institutional nature of the conversion effort. The case also demonstrated the manner in which religious conversion efforts are often embedded within local social networks in order to gain the trust of vulnerable communities before introducing missionary influence. By continuing to present himself as a Hindu man, it enabled his social integration and acceptance within the local Hindu community, the accused was able to cultivate familiarity and credibility among residents, thereby creating conditions conducive to religious indoctrination and conversion activity. Such methods are frequently employed to gradually weaken an individual’s connection to their native faith and social identity before encouraging religious conversion. The Christian faith, by its theological foundations, places strong emphasis on evangelism and conversion. In several documented cases across India, missionary actors and conversion networks have relied on manipulative tactics such as emotional conditioning, misinformation, social pressure, inducements, or promises of material and social upliftment to facilitate religious conversion, particularly among economically or socially vulnerable sections. These activities are not merely acts of private religious expression but organised attempts to bring about demographic and religious change by targeting specific communities for conversion. In this case, the conversion activities specifically targeted local Hindus and sought to undermine their existing religious beliefs and cultural identity through sustained missionary intervention. Such acts go beyond ordinary religious propagation and amount to a form of religious subversion aimed at eroding the faith identity of the Hindu community. Since the underlying motivation of the act was rooted in the deliberate targeting of individuals on the basis of their religion and involved attempts to detach them from their Hindu identity, the case met the threshold for inclusion in the hate crime database. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case has specified the exact date when the illegal conversion activities began. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media, 15 May 2026.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
