100-150 Hindus induced to convert to Christianity through money and false promises of curing illnesses in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh

Case ID : 30aad09 | Location : Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 10 October, 2026

Case ID : 30aad09

Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

10 October, 2026

100-150 Hindus induced to convert to Christianity through money and false promises of curing illnesses in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Pattern of targeting Hindus

Case Summary

In Narwadi village, under the Akhand Nagar police station area of Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, around 100 to 150 Hindu villagers were targeted for conversion to Christianity by Christian missionaries. They used monetary inducements and false promises of curing illnesses through exorcism to lure the villagers into converting. The incident came to light after a video surfaced on Sunday, 11 October 2026, at around 5:30 pm. Following a complaint from Hindu organisations, the police arrested the main accused, Harishchandra, for questioning and initiated an investigation. According to a complaint submitted by Pramod Singh, block president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (Kashi Province), the Hindu villagers had gathered at Udwa Garden in Narwadi village. They were lured to the gathering with offers of money and promises of healing through exorcism, while manipulative statements were used to pressure them into converting to Christianity. The complaint named two Christian accused: Harishchandra, son of Ramlot and a resident of Narwadi village, and Nirmal, son of Ramfer and a resident of Hajipur Alimuddinpur. Several other unidentified individuals were also involved. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad demanded action against the perpetrators under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act. After receiving the complaint, police from Akhand Nagar police station reached the scene and took Harishchandra to the police station for questioning. The station in-charge confirmed that a written complaint had been received and stated that the police were investigating all aspects of the matter. Further legal action would be taken under the relevant sections based on the findings of the investigation.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case is being added to the tracker under the primary category: Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected is: 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 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 is a clear example of a religiously driven hate crime, as Hindus were targeted for conversion to Christianity by Christian missionaries who offered monetary inducements and lured them with the false promise of curing illnesses through supposed exorcisms. The combination of financial inducements, promises of healing and the targeted conversion of a Hindu gathering demonstrates the use of predatory conversion tactics to draw Hindus away from their faith. These circumstances make the incident a case of targeted religious exploitation, rooted in hostility towards Hinduism and the Hindu community. Firstly, the nature of the conversion efforts and the wider impact on the Hindu community all indicate a targeted action against Hindus as a collectivity. When individuals or groups focus their efforts on converting members of a particular religion, in this case, Hindus, then it demonstrates a fundamental disregard for the Hindu faith. Conversion, especially when not based on personal conviction but rather on external persuasion or pressure, is not simply about sharing a different belief system. It is an attempt to undermine the values, traditions, and identity of the Hindu community. In this context, the Christian perpetrators specifically targeted Hindus for conversion, which suggests a lack of respect for Hinduism and its followers. Such actions are carried out to strip Hindu victims of their faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. Secondly, the use of monetary inducements further exposes the predatory nature of the conversion tactics employed in this case. These inducements were not simply acts of goodwill or welfare extended without conditions; they were used as a means of attracting Hindus towards conversion to Christianity by exploiting their socio-economic vulnerabilities. When money is offered to influence a person's religious choice, material need becomes a tool for securing religious conversion rather than an independent act of assistance. Such tactics undermine the voluntary nature of religious conversion by using financial incentives to influence people to abandon their existing faith. They also violate the principle of religious autonomy by treating the religious identity of Hindu victims as something that can be exchanged for material benefits, undermining their ability to make a free and independent choice about their beliefs. Using financial vulnerability to facilitate the abandonment of Hinduism is a form of targeted religious exploitation that demonstrates hostility towards the faith and the community being targeted. Thirdly, the promise of curing illnesses through supposed exorcisms served as both an inducement and a manipulative tactic to facilitate the conversion of Hindus to Christianity. Healing meetings, often referred to as "Changai Sabhas", are a tactic used by Christian missionaries to attract Hindus by promising relief from illnesses, suffering and personal hardships through purported spiritual healing. Such promises exploit the desperation and vulnerability of individuals seeking relief from illness by presenting conversion or participation in Christian religious practices as a route to recovery. When the hope of healing is used to persuade people to abandon their existing faith, personal suffering becomes an instrument of religious conversion. In this case, the promise of curing illnesses through exorcisms, combined with monetary inducements, demonstrates how health-related vulnerabilities were used to influence the religious choices of Hindu villagers. These predatory tactics go beyond the propagation of religious beliefs and constitute targeted exploitation intended to induce Hindus to abandon their faith, making the incident an instance of religiously driven hostility towards the Hindu community. The scale of the conversion drive further underscores the seriousness of the incident. Between 100 and 150 Hindu villagers were targeted, demonstrating that the effort extended beyond one or two individuals to a substantial section of the local Hindu community. Targeting a gathering of this size points to a broader conversion drive aimed at influencing religious allegiance across a sizeable group of Hindus. Such organised efforts, when pursued through monetary inducements and promises of healing, demonstrate an attempt to secure conversions on a wider scale rather than relying on individuals independently arriving at religious convictions. Large-scale conversion drives of this nature alter the religious composition of a local community over time, particularly when they systematically target members of one religious group through exploitative inducements. The targeting of a substantial Hindu gathering through these methods therefore reflects a broader pattern of predatory conversion directed at the Hindu community. These instances of targeted proselytisation activities stem from inherent hostility towards the victims' professed faith, since Abrahamic faiths 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: Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the crime occurs, rather than when it is reported by the media. However, in this case, media reports have not specified the exact date on which the crime occurred. They only state that a video of the incident surfaced on social media on 11 October 2026. Henceforth, 11 October 2026 has been selected as the indicative incident date for documentation purposes only. In this case, the exact number of victims has not been specified. However, estimates indicate that between 100 and 150 Hindu villagers were targeted. Henceforth, in accordance with the Hinduphobia Tracker's standard methodology, the upper limit of 150 victims has been recorded as the indicative victim count for documentation purposes only. In this case, although two accused, Harishchandra and Nirmal, were named in connection with the incident, several other unidentified individuals were also involved. The total number of perpetrators has not been specified. Henceforth, a conservative count of two perpetrators has been recorded for documentation purposes only.