Hindu villagers pressured to convert to Christianity by missionary group from Tamil Nadu, threatened after resisting
23 July, 2026
Case Summary
Hindu villagers in Bharsawa village under the Mohanlalganj police station area of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, reported that a group of people, including five individuals from Tamil Nadu, forced residents to convert to Christianity by offering inducements and making religious promises. The seven accused were identified as Chandrabhan, Aarti, Seema, Subla, Daniel, Sheela and Ajay Rawat. Daniel, a pastor from Tamil Nadu and his wife Subla were among those detained while remaining accused were resident of the village in Mohanlalganj area of Lucknow. The Times of India reported that, out of the seven accused, two were from Tamil Nadu and the remaining five were locals. In contrast, Dainik Bhaskar reported that five of the accused were from Tamil Nadu and the remaining two were locals. According to the villagers, the group had been visiting the village and had been pressuring residents to convert to Christianity. They claimed that the accused had told people that if they accepted Christianity and started attending church, they would be blessed with children. When some villagers objected, the accused responded, "Do whatever you want. We are not afraid of anyone. We will continue converting people." The reports were formally brought to the police by Amit Kumar, son of Sachchidanand and a resident of Debariya Bharsawa village under Barwalia Post in Mohanlalganj. In his complaint, Amit stated that the accused had repeatedly approached him and other villagers, urging them to embrace Christianity. He said that despite being asked not to visit the village with the motive of religious conversion, the group returned to Bharsawa village on 22 July and continued their activities. As per the complaint filed, at around 8:15 p.m. on 22 July, Amit dialled the 112 emergency helpline after the accused refused to leave the village. He stated that when they realised the police had been informed, they began abusing him. Amit further said that he asked the group to remain at the spot until the police arrived. Still, when he attempted to stop their vehicle, Chandrabhan threatened him, saying, "If you stop me, I will run you over with my vehicle." Chandrabhan and Seema's family had already converted to Christianity, and their children also threatened Amit during the incident. Meanwhile, information about outsiders in the village spread among residents, prompting many villagers to gather at the site and surround the premises. The villagers stated that the outsiders had been active in the area for a considerable period and had previously converted several people by offering inducements. The protest continued until police personnel from Mohanlalganj police station reached the village and brought the situation under control. Police took all seven accused into custody and brought them to the police station for questioning. Inspector Rambabu Singh confirmed that a written complaint had been received and that seven people, including those from Tamil Nadu, had been detained. He said the matter was being investigated. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Mohammad Mustaq stated that an FIR had been registered in the case and that investigators were examining bank transactions and other evidence to determine the nature and extent of the activities. He informed that legal action would be taken against anyone found to be involved. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Vasant Kumar said the accused had arrived in the village in a Bolero vehicle on Wednesday. He stated that police were gathering evidence under the relevant legal provisions and were also investigating whether other individuals were involved and for how long the conversion activities had been taking place.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected is: Predatory Proselytisation, with the subcategory selected being: 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 subcategory selected is- Harassment, threat, 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 crimes. In this case, the Hindu victims were specifically targeted by exploiting the emotional distress associated with not having children. They were told that embracing Christianity, attending church, and participating in Christian prayers would bless them with a child. By preying on such a deeply personal vulnerability, the accused sought to persuade the victims to abandon their Hindu faith in the hope of fulfilling their desire to become parents. The pressure, however, did not stop at promises. When the victims refused to convert and continued to practise Hinduism, they were threatened and intimidated. The combination of inducements and coercion demonstrates that the objective was not simply to propagate religious beliefs but to secure the victims' conversion by exploiting their vulnerability and penalising them for resisting. Luring Hindus to convert to a different faith by offering money and inducements such as miracle cures is predatory in nature since the extremists manipulate the specific vulnerabilities of disadvantaged and poor Hindus to manipulate them into conversion. This stems from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is a subject to be dehumanised till they convert. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
