Innocent Hindu villagers lured to convert to Christianity on the pretext of prayer meeting in Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh
Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh, India 
8 August, 2026
Case Summary
In Gauri village under Baburi police station, in the Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh, Hindu villagers were manipulated and lured into converting to Christianity under the pretext of a prayer meeting. On 9 August 2026, a large number of Hindu locals were made to gather at a location in the village for the prayer meeting. Following information about religious conversion activities being conducted during the gathering, police reached the spot and found a large number of people present. Upon seeing the police, many people began leaving the location. Police subsequently arrested two Christian men, Ashok, a resident of Gauri village under Baburi police station, and Ashish, a resident of Barwal under Shahabganj police station, at the scene. Baburi police registered a First Information Report against the two men and initiated an investigation into the activities being conducted during the prayer meeting. Baburi police station in-charge Vibhuti Narayan Rai stated that police had received information about a prayer meeting being organised at a location in Gauri village, where a large number of people had gathered. Police reached the spot after receiving information about forced religious conversion activities and arrested two people at the scene. At the time of writing the report, the police were investigating the nature of the activities conducted during the prayer meeting, the manner in which people were being encouraged to convert to Christianity, and who else was involved in the gathering. Further investigation into the religious conversion activities and the participation of other individuals was underway.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
In this case, the primary category selected is: 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 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 added to the tracker because Hindu villagers were targeted for forced conversion to Christianity under the pretext of a prayer meeting in Gauri village. The religious identity of those targeted was central to the conduct, as the gathering was used to bring members of the Hindu community into an environment intended to influence them towards abandoning their existing faith and accepting Christianity. The nature of the conversion effort and its potential impact on the wider Hindu community indicated that the conduct was directed at Hindus as a religious group rather than being a neutral expression of Christian belief. Primarily, the prayer meeting was used as a deceptive setting through which Hindu villagers could be exposed to Christian religious influence. A prayer meeting ordinarily denotes a gathering for worship and spiritual reflection, but in this case the gathering was linked to religious conversion activities. Using such a setting enabled the organisers to draw people into the gathering without openly presenting its purpose as an effort to change their religious affiliation. The use of a familiar religious setting therefore facilitated the attempt to influence Hindu villagers while concealing the conversion objective behind the stated purpose of the gathering. The conduct was significant because the objective was not merely to communicate or discuss Christian beliefs with members of the public. Hindu villagers were brought into a setting where efforts were being made to persuade them towards conversion to Christianity. When organised religious activity is directed towards members of a particular faith with the objective of changing their religious affiliation, it directly engages with their religious identity. In this context, the Hindu faith of the intended targets was treated as something to be changed rather than simply a religious identity to be respected. Furthermore, the gathering involved a large number of villagers, demonstrating that the conversion-related activity was directed at the Hindu community collectively. Rather than being limited to an isolated interaction with one individual, the prayer meeting brought several Hindu villagers together and provided a setting in which they could be manipulated towards conversion to Christianity. The gathering therefore facilitated a concerted conversion effort targeting multiple members of the Hindu community and demonstrated that the conduct was directed against their religious identity rather than arising from an individual religious interaction. The use of religious persuasion in this manner also affected the religious autonomy of the targeted Hindu villagers. Conversion becomes religiously significant when efforts are directed at persuading individuals to leave their existing faith and adopt another, particularly where the stated purpose of the gathering does not transparently disclose that conversion is part of the activity. The attempt to alter the religious affiliation of Hindu villagers therefore went beyond ordinary religious expression and constituted conduct specifically directed at changing the faith of members of the Hindu community. Such instances of forced proselytisation are manifestations of doctrinal hostility embedded within Abrahamic religions like Christianity that regard non-adherents as inferior and encourage their conversion. This leads to the dehumanisation of those who do not share the faith and creates an environment in which coercive conversion takes place. Therefore, this case is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
