Case Summary

In North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, Hindus were targeted for religious conversion to Christianity under the guise of a prayer meeting. Christian missionaries had organised the gathering while vulnerable members of the Hindu community were being brainwashed to convert. The incident came to light after local residents in Ward No. 28 of Bhatpara under the Jagaddal Assembly constituency informed members of the Hindu Jagran Manch about the coercive conversion programme. Members of the Hindu Jagran Manch reached the venue, confronted those conducting the gathering, objected to the conversion activity, and demanded that the programme be stopped. Their intervention led to a heated confrontation involving residents, Hindu Jagran Manch members, and police personnel. Videos circulated on social media showed people confronting police officials and demanding strict action against such coercive conversion activities, along with closer monitoring of similar gatherings. As tensions escalated, local police intervened, separated the opposing groups, restored order, and the programme was subsequently stopped. At the time of writing this report, no information had been provided regarding the registration of a First Information Report, arrests, detentions, criminal charges, specific legal provisions invoked, or the outcome of any police investigation.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category selected in this case is: Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected 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 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 is a clear example of a religiously motivated hate crime because Hindus were targeted for conversion to Christianity through a prayer meeting where vulnerable members of the Hindu community were subjected to coercive brainwashing techniques. The conduct was directed specifically at Hindus, making their religious identity central to the incident rather than incidental. Firstly, the selective targeting of Hindus for conversion demonstrated that the perpetrators’ actions were directed at a particular religious community. The objective extended beyond introducing Christian beliefs; it involved persuading Hindus to abandon their existing faith and adopt Christianity through coercive influence rather than genuine religious choice. Conversion undertaken through brainwashing or psychological manipulation violates the victims’ religious autonomy and undermines their fundamental right to freely practise and preserve their faith. Such conduct reflects disregard for the religious identity of the Hindu community and constitutes a targeted attack on that identity. Secondly, the use of a prayer meeting as the vehicle for conversion highlighted the deceptive nature of the activity. A gathering presented as a spiritual or religious meeting functioned as a setting where vulnerable Hindus were gradually exposed to sustained efforts to influence them to renounce Hinduism and embrace Christianity. Rather than serving solely as an occasion for worship, the prayer meeting became an instrument of religious persuasion through psychological conditioning and repeated exposure. The deliberate use of such methods to weaken an individual’s attachment to their faith demonstrated religious hostility directed at the Hindu community. The Christian faith, by its theological foundations, places a strong emphasis on proselytisation. In pursuit of conversion objectives, Christian missionary groups have repeatedly used unethical methods, including psychological pressure, misinformation, and inducements such as financial assistance or employment opportunities. In cases such as this, vulnerable Hindus are targeted through coercive influence and brainwashing in an effort to facilitate religious conversion, stripping individuals of their agency and dignity while pressuring them to abandon their ancestral faith. Such acts are rooted in deep-seated hatred for Hinduism, making this incident a clear example of a religiously motivated crime. Such instances of predatory proselytisation stem from inherent hostility towards the victims' Hindu faith, since Abrahamic faiths like Christianity believe that any non-adherent to their faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert, making it a religiously motivated crime against Hindus. Therefore, this case is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case has specified the exact date when the incident occurred. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media, 21 September 2026.