Poor Hindu villagers targeted for conversion; offered inducements and manipulated with religious texts by Christian man
Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, India 
23 May, 2026
Case Summary
In Jograjpur village under the Sehramau North police station area of Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, economically vulnerable Hindu villagers were targeted for conversion by a Christian man named Anokha Singh alias Anokhe Lal, who offered inducements and distributed Christian religious literature to influence them. According to reports, the accused, Anokha Singh, a resident of the Mudha Pandey area of Moradabad, had been moving door-to-door in the village distributing Christian religious literature and persuading Hindu residents to embrace Christianity. Villagers stated that he particularly targeted poor families and unmarried youths by promising employment opportunities and marriage arrangements in exchange for conversion. He also approached people near local shops and attempted to influence them through religious preaching and the distribution of pamphlets. After receiving information about these activities, workers of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad reached Jograjpur market and confronted the accused on 24 May 2026. During questioning by the VHP workers, he admitted to preaching Christianity, and a video of the interaction later circulated on social media. VHP workers, including Gaurav Gupta and Naveen Tiwari, detained him and handed him over to the police. Religious pamphlets were recovered from his possession. He also claimed that after this, Jesus Christ delivered him from the evil spirit, and he converted to Christianity. Since then, he had been travelling from village to village preaching Christianity. He also claimed to have sold seven acres of his land. Based on a complaint submitted by VHP activists, the police registered an FIR against Singh under the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act. Circle Officer Prateek Dahiya confirmed that the accused had been brought to the police station by VHP workers and that legal proceedings had been initiated. Sehramau North Inspector Sanjay Singh stated that an investigation into the matter was ongoing.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Predatory Proselytisation. Within it, the sub-category 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 here 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 has been added to the tracker because economically vulnerable Hindu villagers were targeted for religious conversion through inducements offered by a Christian man identified as Anokha Singh. Firstly, the use of incentives and promises of employment or marriage to encourage religious conversion demonstrated a deliberate attempt to exploit the economic and social vulnerabilities of the Hindu victims. Offering incentives or making false promises, especially when directed at vulnerable individuals in need, shows that these incentives are not acts of kindness or charity. Instead, they are calculated moves to exploit vulnerable Hindus because of their religion. By providing inducements in exchange for conversion, the accused were effectively blackmailing those who might have been desperate for assistance or hope. Such instances are seen in many cases where members of Christian missionary groups target socially and economically vulnerable Hindus to further their agenda of religious conversions. This form of coercion strips people of their agency and dignity and results in coerced conversions. These are not random or isolated incidents, but rather cases deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims. Secondly, the accused approached people near local shops, distributed Christian pamphlets, and engaged in religious preaching with the intention of persuading Hindu residents to convert. Furthermore, religious literature was also recovered from his possession. Thus, the Christian perpetrators were actively attempting to indoctrinate the Hindu victims by using Christian religious texts and literature. Using the scriptures or literature of one faith to deliberately target and manipulate members of another, with the clear intention of religious conversion, represents a direct attack on the Hindu faith. Such actions are designed to violate and undermine the beliefs of Hindu victims and are clear indicators of religious hostility towards Hindus and their religious identity. Such actions further demonstrate that this was not an isolated incident of evangelism, but rather part of a broader, organised operation to further religious conversions. When Christian religious material is used to exploit trust, sow doubt, and misrepresent the beliefs of Hindus to coerce conversion, particularly in a systematic manner, it constitutes a religiously motivated offence. Thirdly, the accused specifically targeted poor and economically vulnerable Hindu villagers, demonstrating a deliberate selection of Hindu victims based on their financial and social circumstances. Individuals facing economic hardship are often more susceptible to inducements such as promises of employment, financial stability, marriage arrangements, or other forms of assistance. By focusing his activities on disadvantaged Hindu families and unemployed youths, the accused exploited their vulnerability in an attempt to facilitate religious conversion. The selective targeting of impoverished Hindus demonstrated that the conversion effort was not random in nature, but strategically directed at those considered easier to influence due to their precarious circumstances. Such conduct reflected a calculated attempt to use poverty and social insecurity as tools for religious conversion, further reinforcing the coercive and religiously motivated character of the incident. The Christian faith, by its very theological foundations, places a strong emphasis on proselytisation. In pursuit of conversion objectives, Christian evangelists often employ unethical means, ranging from psychological pressure and misinformation to inducements such as money or jobs. These tactics are designed not as acts of charity but as tools to engineer religious change under the guise of social upliftment, particularly among vulnerable and underprivileged communities. This systematic attempt to erode the religious foundation of individuals and replace it with allegiance to another faith reflects deep religious malice and animus against the Hindu identity. Because the core motivation of the act stems from hostility toward the victim’s religion, it meets the threshold of a hate crime. Hence, categorised as a hate crime in the database.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
