Hindus targeted and brainwashed to convert to Christianity by organised interstate Christian conversion racket in Udaipur, Rajasthan

Case ID : 30a98fa | Location : Udaipur, Rajasthan, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 24 July, 2022

Case ID : 30a98fa

Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

24 July, 2022

Hindus targeted and brainwashed to convert to Christianity by organised interstate Christian conversion racket in Udaipur, Rajasthan

Predatory Proselytisation

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Pattern of targeting Hindus

Case Summary

In Rajasthan's Udaipur district, nearly 200 Hindus, particularly members of tribal communities, were targeted for illegal religious conversion to Christianity through an organised interstate conversion network. Investigators found that the accused brought Hindu villagers to conversion camps, distributed religious and promotional material, and conducted religious conversion activities. According to the investigation, the main accused, Amit Harish, converted around 150 to 200 Hindus over the previous four years (2022). The case diary also contained evidence of suspicious messages and financial transactions linked to the conversion activities. The probe revealed that Amit Kumar, Palash Gulhani and Ashish Masih travelled from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh to Udaipur to organise religious conversion camps through affiliated Christian organisations. Another accused, Haris, managed the network in Udaipur and coordinated religious conversions and financial transactions with Punjab-based pastor Ankur Narula. Investigators also uncovered links between Anugrah Jyoti Sansthan in Chhattisgarh and the Apam & Shalomi Welfare Society in Udaipur. They further found that the network was connected to Punjab-based pastor Ankur Narula, who had links with foreign institutions and individuals and was identified as Amit Harish's mentor. The Special Investigation Team further found that local accused, including Prabhulal, Sohanlal, Babulal and six others, arranged tents and land for the camps, distributed conversion material, and brought Hindu tribals and villagers to Christian gatherings where they were forcibly converted to Christianity. Based on the findings, a case was registered under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 3 and 5(1) of the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2025. The investigation was conducted by a Special Investigation Team, which was expected to uncover further details about the organised religious conversion racket targeting Hindus. In the latest development, the Rajasthan High Court rejected the bail pleas of 13 accused arrested in the case. A Bench headed by Justice Sunil Beniwal observed that the accused appeared, prima facie, to be part of an organised syndicate and held that granting bail at that stage was not appropriate in view of the ongoing investigation and the possibility of evidence tampering.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the first primary category: Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected is: Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary category selected is: 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 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 constituted a clear example of a religiously motivated hate crime because the victims were targeted on the basis of their religious identity as Hindus and were subjected to organised efforts to make them abandon their faith and convert to Christianity. Freedom of religion includes the right to adopt, practise, or change one's religion through one's own free and informed choice. However, when a change of faith is brought about through sustained external influence, organised indoctrination, coercive tactics, or psychological manipulation rather than genuine personal conviction, it ceases to be an exercise of religious freedom and instead becomes an assault on an individual's religious autonomy. Such acts undermine a person's freedom of conscience and target the individual's religious identity, making them a form of religiously motivated hostility. The investigation revealed that the accused operated organised conversion camps where Hindu villagers, particularly members of vulnerable tribal communities, were brought with the specific purpose of facilitating their conversion to Christianity. These camps were not isolated religious gatherings but formed part of a structured conversion network that systematically sought to influence and alter the religious beliefs of the attendees. Investigators further found that promotional and religious material was distributed as part of the conversion process. The repeated dissemination of such material in a controlled setting formed part of a sustained effort to persuade the victims to abandon their ancestral faith and embrace Christianity. Such organised indoctrination targeted individuals because they were Hindus and sought to weaken their attachment to their existing religious beliefs, demonstrating that the conversions were driven by religious objectives rather than spontaneous personal choice. The organised nature of these activities elevated the offence beyond isolated acts of religious proselytisation. The accused had arranged conversion camps, transported Hindu villagers to those gatherings, coordinated religious conversion activities across state borders, maintained financial links connected to the conversion network, and worked in association with multiple individuals and organisations. Such coordinated efforts reflected a deliberate campaign directed at members of a specific religious community, Hindus. Targeting individuals because of their religious identity and attempting to replace that identity through organised coercive conversion constituted an attack on the community's religious freedom and cultural continuity, thereby amounting to a religiously motivated hate crime. The scale and duration of the operation further demonstrated that it was not an isolated incident. Investigators found that around 150 to 200 Hindus had been converted over a period of approximately four years. The victims were not limited to one or two individuals but comprised a large number of Hindu villagers and tribal community members. The investigation further uncovered the involvement of an organised interstate conversion network linking individuals and organisations in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Punjab, along with evidence of financial transactions and links with foreign institutions and individuals. The sustained nature of the operation, its interstate coordination, and the number of victims indicated a systematic effort directed at members of the Hindu community rather than a series of unrelated incidents. The findings also reflected a mindset of religious domination in which organised efforts were undertaken to replace the religious identity of Hindu victims with Christianity. The operation was directed specifically at Hindus, and the methods uncovered during the investigation, including organised camps, coordinated recruitment, distribution of conversion material, interstate planning, and financial coordination, indicated a sustained effort to erode the victims' existing religious identity. Such conduct demonstrated hostility towards the continued practice of the victims' faith and sought to supplant it with another religion through organised means, thereby making the religious identity of the victims the central basis of the offence. Given that this case satisfied the parameters of a religiously motivated hate crime, involving the organised targeting of Hindus for unlawful religious conversion on the basis of their faith, it was included in the Hinduphobia Tracker's hate crime database. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when the victims' ordeal begins rather than when the incident is reported in the media. However, in this case, the media reports did not specify the exact date when the victims' ordeal began, nor did they mention any other specific date of the incident. The only confirmed date available was the publication date of the media reports, 25 July 2026. The reports also stated that the conversion activities had taken place over the previous four years, during which around 150 to 200 individuals were converted, but no specific dates were provided for those incidents. Accordingly, an incident date of 25 July 2022 has been selected for this case. This date has been recorded solely for documentation purposes.