Economically vulnerable Hindus targeted for religious conversion under guise of healing meetings by Christian missionaries
Asansol, West Bengal, India 
20 June, 2026
Case Summary
At the Astha Bhavan in the Rambagan area of Raniganj, West Bengal, poor and vulnerable Hindus were being targeted for religious conversion under the guise of prayer meetings by Christian missionaries on 21 June 2026. According to reports, local residents and Hindu activists associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stated that Hindus attending the gatherings were being influenced to abandon their faith through religious programmes presented as prayer and healing sessions. Attendees were lured to the prayer meetings with claims that participation would lead to improvements in health, relief from mental stress, and freedom from fear and personal difficulties. Upon receiving information about the illegal conversion activities, activists from the VHP, Bajrang Dal, and BJP reached the venue and staged a protest. Eyewitnesses reported that a heated argument broke out between the protesters and those associated with the gathering. The confrontation subsequently escalated into a scuffle, creating tension in the area. VHP representatives stated that prayer meetings were being used as a mechanism to draw people towards conversion, while BJP leaders demanded a thorough investigation and appropriate action against the perpetrators. Police personnel from the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate arrived at the scene and deployed additional forces to restore order. Around eighteen people, including several women, were detained for questioning in connection with the disturbance. Law enforcement authorities stated that an investigation had been initiated and that all aspects of the matter were being examined. The organisers of the programme denied religious conversion and claimed that no unlawful activity had taken place. Police continued their inquiry into the incident while maintaining a security presence in the area to prevent further unrest.
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 inducements. 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 subcategory selected is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, with the tertiary category being - 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 the 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 proselytisation, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. This case has been added to the tracker because poor and vulnerable Hindus were targeted for religious conversion through prayer meetings where promises of healing, relief from mental distress, and freedom from personal difficulties were used to convert attendees. Such actions reveals an attempt to influence religious belief by exploiting the vulnerabilities of individuals facing emotional, social, or economic hardships. Firstly, 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 or promising healing 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 victims were lured for conversion under the guise of a prayer meeting. In many such cases, gatherings presented as prayer or healing sessions serve as vehicles for introducing religious teachings and encouraging participants to abandon their existing faith. These are not genuine community prayers but calculated efforts to exploit the trust of Hindus and manipulate them into abandoning their faith. The organisers deliberately held the meeting in secrecy, indicating a deliberate and deceptive strategy designed to avoid public attention and scrutiny. By conducting such gatherings covertly, the Christian missionaries sought to manipulate vulnerable Hindus, taking advantage of their emotional and social circumstances to push them towards conversion. The case also reflects a targeted focus on members of the Hindu community. When individuals or groups focus their efforts on converting members of a particular religion, in this case, Hindus, then it demonstrates a fundamental disregard for the Hindu faith. Conversion, especially when not based on personal conviction but rather on external persuasion or pressure, is not simply about sharing a different belief system. It is an attempt to undermine the values, traditions, and identity of the Hindu community. In this context, the Christian perpetrators specifically targeted Hindus, which demonstrates a lack of respect for Hinduism and its followers. Such actions are carried out to strip Hindu victims of their faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. 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
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 10 to 100
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
