Hindu man lured to prayer meeting and offered inducements for religious conversion by Christian preacher in Anupgarh, Rajasthan
Ganganagar, Rajasthan, India 
6 August, 2026
Case Summary
In the Sri Ganganagar district, Rajasthan, A Hindu man named Surjeet was offered ₹50,000 as inducements for religious conversion and to come under the “shelter of Jehovah" by a Christian preacher, Gauri Shankar. Furthermore, the accused repeatedly persuaded him to attend church prayer meetings and distributed Christian religious literature. On the evening of August 7, 2026, the Hindu man, Surjeet, son of Shyamlal Rajput, had gone to the new grain market in Anupgarh when he encountered Gauri Shankar, a resident of Ghadsana, who was distributing Christian religious material and promoting prayer meetings associated with Ankur Narula’s The Church of Signs and Wonders in Jalandhar, Punjab. According to the complaint, Gauri Shankar told Surjeet that he was associated with the Christian organisation and encouraged him to attend programmes scheduled at the church in Jalandhar on 13-16 August. He also described the prayer meetings as events where people were supposedly healed of serious illnesses and other ailments. Gauri Shankar further offered Surjeet ₹50,000 if he attended the programme and participated in the religious activities, stating that the money would be deposited into his bank account through a preacher associated with the organisation The Hindu man later added that Gauri Shankar claimed that he himself had received ₹50,000 from Ankur Narula for carrying out religious promotional work. And that the money was deposited directly into his bank account through Deep Pradhan, who was described as one of Ankur Narula’s promoters. The accused further named several other individuals, including Raju Jaun, Kalu, Dayanand Shipi and Shiva and his wife of Sri Karanpur. He claimed that they too were engaged in promoting Christianity and facilitating religious conversions in their respective areas. They also received money in their bank accounts from The Church of Signs and Wonders for carrying out such activities. Furthermore, Gauri Shankar told him that he was actively engaged in the promotion and propagation of The Church of Signs and Wonders, associated with Ankur Narula. He further added that his responsibility was to encourage people to attend church prayer meetings. He also showed Surjeet a promotional card of the church and claimed that extraordinary miracles took place during Ankur Narula’s prayer gatherings, including that the blind regained sight, the lame began to walk, the mute started speaking, and serious and chronic illnesses were cured through prayer. The victim stated that it was presented as proof of the power of the church and was used to persuade him to join the religious organisation. Surjeet further said that Gauri Shankar was particularly active in the border region, where he targeted poor, innocent, and uneducated members of the Hindu community by offering them financial assistance and promising that their illnesses would be cured if they joined the church and attended its prayer meetings. The accused repeatedly attempted to convince him that accepting Christianity and participating in church activities would bring both spiritual benefits and financial rewards, while also encouraging him to influence others to join the church. Following the incident, local residents apprehended Gauri Shankar and handed him over to the police. Surjeet subsequently lodged a complaint at Anupgarh police station against Gauri Shankar, Ankur Narula and their associates. Police registered a case under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to forced religious conversion. Gauri Shankar was arrested on charges of disturbing the peace, while further investigation into the religious conversion complaint and the involvement of the other named persons was underway.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in this case is: Predatory Proselytisation, with the subcategory selected as: 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 sub-category selected here is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, with the tertiary category selected here 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 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 incident involved a targeted attempt to persuade a Hindu man to participate in Christian religious activities through a combination of persistent religious persuasion, promises of miraculous healing and a substantial financial inducement in an effort to convert him to Christianity. The religious nature of the targeting was evident from the fact that the inducement was directed towards changing or influencing the religious affiliation of a Hindu individual rather than providing ordinary charitable or financial assistance. The ₹50,000 offer was presented in the context of participation in Christian religious activities, making the material benefit an instrument of proselytisation. Furthermore, church activities as a source of miraculous healing, financial assistance and divine protection sought to make Christianity appear to offer tangible advantages that were unavailable or inadequate within the individual's existing religious framework. 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 religion. By providing inducements or promising healing in exchange for conversion, the accused was 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 The Christian perpetrator was also actively attempting to indoctrinate the Hindu victims by using Christian religious texts and literature. Using the scriptures or literature of one faith to deliberately target and manipulate members of another, with the clear intention of religious conversion, represents a direct attack on the Hindu faith. Such actions are designed to violate and undermine the beliefs of Hindu victims and are clear indicators of religious hostility towards Hindus and their religious identity. Such actions further demonstrate that this was not an isolated incident of evangelism, but rather part of a broader, organised operation to further religious conversions. When Christian religious material is used to exploit trust, sow doubt, and misrepresent the beliefs of Hindus to coerce conversion, particularly in a systematic manner, it constitutes a religiously motivated offence. The mindset behind such conversions reveals a profound disrespect for the ancient Hindu faith. Gauri Shankar’s actions embody the supremacist ideology that underpins much of Christian evangelism, believing their religion to be superior and that all others are inferior. His misleading promise that joining his church would bring one "under the shelter of Jehovah" implied that Hindus were without divine protection or guidance until they submit to Christianity. This devaluation of Hinduism as incomplete or false is not only offensive, but it also seeks to dismantle centuries-old traditions and cultural heritage by replacing them with other beliefs. Disclaimer: We have recorded the perpetrator count as one because the case is based on the specific incident described in the FIR and police action against Gauri Shankar, who was apprehended at the scene and against whom the case has been registered. Although the complaint names additional individuals and alleges links to other persons and organisations, those are currently part of the complainant’s statement and no direct involvement in the victim's conversion; therefore, for documentation purposes, only the directly accused individual in this incident has been counted as the perpetrator.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
