Hindu residents targeted for Christian conversion under guise of prayer meeting in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 
25 July, 2026
Case Summary
In the Pakbara area of Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, Hindus were targeted for religious conversion by Christian missionaries under the guise of a prayer gathering. According to reports, the prayer meeting was held on 26 July 2026 under a temporary tent on a vacant plot in the Saini neighbourhood by Christian missionaries. The gathering drew the attention of local Hindu residents and BJP leaders, including Mahesh Saini, Danveer Saini, Durgesh Saini, Mukesh Thakur, Amit Saini, and Abhishek Thakur, who objected to the event and contacted the police. The complainants stated that the prayer meeting was being used to encourage religious conversion of members of the local Hindu community, particularly economically vulnerable Hindus. Following the complaint, police reached the location, questioned the individuals present, and did not make any arrests. According to the Station House Officer, no written complaint was submitted. Police instructed the organisers not to conduct such gatherings in an open plot and advised them to hold worship and prayer activities at a church instead. After issuing the warning, the individuals present were allowed to leave. The incident generated dissatisfaction among the Hindu complainants, who stated that stronger legal action, including registration of an FIR and a detailed investigation into the allegations of religious conversion, should have been initiated instead of concluding the matter with a warning.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category for this case is: Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory for this case 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 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. In such incidents, where a person is deliberately targeted by the Christian missionaries because of their religious identity and subjected to systematic efforts to undermine or replace their faith through manipulation, exploitation of vulnerability, or abuse of trust, the conduct must be viewed as motivated by hostility toward that religious identity, and the faith of Hinduism, rather than by ordinary interpersonal interaction. In such circumstances, the victim is not selected randomly but because of membership in a particular religious community. Evidence demonstrates that the conduct was intended to erode the victim's religious beliefs through deceptive or manipulative means; the religious identity of the victim becomes central to the wrongdoing. In this case, what was presented as a simple prayer gathering was in reality a covert attempt at religious conversion. These were 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 without permission from the administration, 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. Here, the evidence established that Christian religious instruction or psychological manipulation was intentionally used to weaken an individual's attachment to their existing Hindu faith and encourage acceptance of another; it indicates a deliberate attempt to influence religious identity through means other than informed and voluntary choice. Where trust, authority, or economic vulnerability is exploited for this purpose, the conduct raises concerns beyond ordinary religious expression and may reflect a calculated effort to secure conversion by taking advantage of the victim's circumstances. 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. In such cases, Christian missionary groups often target and brainwash socially and economically vulnerable Hindus to further their agenda of religious conversions. This form of coercion strips Hindus of their agency and dignity and enforces forced conversions. These are not random or isolated incidents, but rather premeditated efforts to undermine the Hindu faith, persuade Hindus to discard their own faith, and convert to Christianity. Such acts were deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims, and thus, this case was added to the tracker. Cases involving Christian missionary activities that use manipulation, psychological influence, or other subtle methods to convert Hindu individuals constitute a violation of religious freedom and informed consent. When vulnerable Hindus are targeted through repeated persuasion, exploitation of trust, inducements, or subtle indoctrination rather than through free and informed choice, such actions weaken trust within communities, creating fear among those who are susceptible to such influence, especially individuals from economically and socially vulnerable sections. The law draws a clear distinction between a voluntary change of faith and conversion secured through coercion, fraud, undue influence, manipulation, or exploitation. These elements fall within the category of Predatory Proselytisation, specifically Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation, or subtle indoctrination.
Case Status
Complaint not filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
