Hindu family lured into conversion induced through promises of miracle healing in Kanker, Chhattisgarh

Case ID : 30a9113 | Location : Kanker, Chhattisgarh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 20 June, 2026

Case ID : 30a9113

Kanker, Chhattisgarh, India

20 June, 2026

Hindu family lured into conversion induced through promises of miracle healing in Kanker, Chhattisgarh

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Victim says was brainwashed/groomed

Pattern of targeting Hindus

Case Summary

In the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, a Hindu family was lured into conversion by Christian evangelists promising miraculous healing. Upon discovering the deception, the family decided to return to their Hindu faith. The incident came to light following the death of a male member of the family and the subsequent dispute concerning the burial rites of the deceased tribal man. According to statements made by the deceased's relatives and members of the local community, the family had originally practised the traditional Hindu and tribal faith of their ancestors before coming into contact with Christian evangelists operating in the area. According to the family, Christian preachers approached them during a period when a member of the household was suffering from serious health issues. The family stated that they were assured that embracing Christianity and participating in Christian prayer gatherings would result in miraculous healing and relief from their difficulties. Relying on these assurances, the family gradually adopted Christianity and began participating in religious activities associated with the faith. Subsequently, family members stated that the promised improvement in their circumstances did not materialise. They further stated that they became disillusioned with the representations made to them and decided to return to the faith and traditions practised by their ancestors. Thereafter, the family underwent Ghar Wapsi through a religious ceremony organised with the assistance of local Hindu organisations and community members. Following the ceremony, they resumed participation in Hindu and traditional tribal customs and began identifying once again with their ancestral faith. The matter came into public focus following the death of a male member of the family. After his death, arrangements were initiated to conduct his last rites. However, a dispute arose regarding the manner and location of his burial. Questions were raised concerning the deceased's religious identity at the time of his death and whether the funeral rites should be conducted according to Christian customs or in accordance with the traditions followed after the family's Ghar Wapsi. As the disagreement intensified, local administrative authorities became involved and held discussions with the deceased's family, village representatives, and other stakeholders. During these discussions, family members stated that the deceased had returned to his ancestral faith before his death and had been participating in its customs and religious practices. Community members also presented their views regarding the customary practices governing funeral rites within the village. Following these discussions and verification of the relevant circumstances, permission was granted for the deceased's burial. The final rites were thereafter performed under administrative supervision and in accordance with the resolution reached among the concerned parties. The incident drew attention within the region because it brought into focus issues relating to religious conversion and reconversion. Administrative authorities remained engaged throughout the process to ensure that the final rites were completed peacefully and without any disturbance to public order.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category selected in this case is Predatory Proselytisation. The selected subcategory 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. The tertiary categories selected are- 'Pattern of targeting Hindus' and 'Victim says was brainwashed/groomed'. 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 perpetrator's contrasting faith. 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 was included in the Hinduphobia Tracker because a Hindu family was targeted for religious conversion through the use of inducements and deceptive promises aimed at persuading them to abandon their ancestral faith and embrace Christianity. The religious dimension formed the core of the incident, as the family's Hindu identity was specifically targeted, and efforts were made to alter their religious affiliation through methods designed to influence their decision-making by exploiting personal vulnerabilities. The use of promises of miraculous healing to secure religious conversion represented a deliberate attempt to take advantage of individuals facing hardship and uncertainty. Rather than respecting the family's existing faith and religious autonomy, the perpetrators sought to leverage their circumstances to facilitate conversion. Such conduct constituted a direct intrusion into the victims' freedom of conscience and their right to practise and preserve their ancestral religious traditions without external manipulation. It is important to note that the individuals targeted for conversion were not selected at random. The Christian evangelists focused on Hindu families facing serious illnesses, financial hardship, and other personal difficulties. By approaching individuals during periods of vulnerability and offering assurances of miraculous healing and relief from their problems, they sought to create circumstances in which resistance to conversion would be weakened. Such promises were carefully directed at those experiencing distress, making their hardships the very means through which attempts were made to influence their religious choices and encourage the abandonment of their ancestral faith. Furthermore, the incident demonstrated a calculated effort to weaken the family's attachment to Hindu beliefs by presenting conversion as the solution to their personal difficulties. The conversion process did not emerge from an informed theological choice but from representations specifically designed to influence vulnerable individuals at a difficult stage in their lives. The deliberate targeting of Hindus through such methods reflected hostility towards the continued practice of their faith and therefore carried a clear anti-Hindu character. Significantly, the family's eventual return to Hinduism highlighted that the conversion had failed to provide the benefits that had been promised to them. Their decision to undergo Ghar Wapsi illustrated a conscious effort to reclaim their religious identity and reconnect with the faith and customs of their ancestors. The need to return to their original faith underscored the extent to which their religious identity had previously been disrupted through deceptive conversion practices. Ultimately, this incident reflected a broader pattern in which conversion was pursued through inducement and psychological influence directed specifically at Hindus. The targeting of a Hindu family, the exploitation of personal vulnerabilities, and the attempt to replace their ancestral faith through deceptive religious promises collectively established the anti-Hindu nature of the act. For these reasons, the case was documented in the Hinduphobia Tracker database. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the victim's ordeal began, rather than when it was reported in the media. The report does not specify when the victim's ordeal began; therefore, the date the incident was reported has been recorded as the incident date for documentation purposes only. Disclaimer: In this case, it is mentioned that members of 1 family were converted to Christianity. However, the exact number of individuals involved in the conversion is not specified. Due to this lack of clarity, we have relied on the most recent Indian census data, which indicates that the average family size in India is approximately 4.8 members per household. To ensure a standardised estimation, we have opted to consider an average of 5 members per family. Based on this approach, the estimated total number of victims in this case is 5.