Hindu man targeted for religious conversion by Christian man through promises of financial assistance, medical treatment and other benefits

Case ID : 30ab315 | Location : Erandol, Maharashtra, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 1 November, 2026

Case ID : 30ab315

Erandol, Maharashtra, India

1 November, 2026

Hindu man targeted for religious conversion by Christian man through promises of financial assistance, medical treatment and other benefits

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Case Summary

In Erandol, Maharashtra, a Hindu man named Shankar Hiraman Borse was lured into religious conversion by a Christian man named Kailas Sahadar Barela under the pretext of offering financial assistance, medical treatment and other benefits. According to reports, the Hindu man worked as a labourer to support his family and met his friend Prakash Vikram Barela on 30 October 2026. The victim was suffering from stomach pain for several days and was also facing financial difficulties. During their conversation, Prakash told him that a Christian man named Kailas Sahadar Barela regularly visited the Uttamnagar settlement, where he gathered local residents at the house of Sanjay Ratan Barela and conducted religious gatherings behind closed doors. Prakash told him that residents were being encouraged to embrace Christianity with promises that their illnesses and difficulties would be resolved and that they would receive food supplies, free education and financial assistance. On the evening of 2 November 2026, Borse and Prakash visited Sanjay Barela's house, where they heard chanting and found around 25–30 men and women gathered inside. When Borse enquired whether his stomach ailment would be cured and whether he would receive financial assistance, Kailas Barela assured him that he would receive all these benefits if he abandoned Hinduism and converted to Christianity. Following the incident, Shankar Borse, a resident of Kevadipura, lodged a complaint at Erandol Police Station, based on which a case was registered against Kailas Sahadar Barela, who was identified as a resident of Dharangaon. The complaint stated that Barela had been approaching poor and tribal residents and encouraging them to convert to Christianity by promising money and treatment for illnesses. A statement submitted to the police inspector by the Sakal Hindu Samaj also identified Barela and stated that he had been engaging in such activities for the past several years. The organisation expressed concern that Barela might not have been acting alone and that a larger network could have been supporting the conversion activities. It demanded an investigation into the individuals involved, the local-level support he received and the sources of his financial assistance. The organisation also warned that the Hindu community would organise a strong protest if the police failed to conduct a proper and thorough investigation.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category selected for this case is: Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected is: Conversion/attempts to convert by inducement. Predatory Proselytisation is not just limited to threats, 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 to change 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 incident qualified for classification as a hate crime because the conduct involved the use of religious inducements to persuade a Hindu individual to abandon his faith and convert to Christianity. The nature of the inducements was particularly significant, as they were directed at exploiting the victim's vulnerabilities, including his financial difficulties and prolonged stomach ailment. 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 were 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. Rather than constituting an ordinary offer of financial or medical assistance, the benefits were explicitly made conditional upon his renunciation of Hinduism and conversion to Christianity. This conditionality established a direct connection between the assistance being offered and the abandonment of his religious identity, indicating that his Hindu faith was the specific target of the conversion effort. The religious dimension of the incident was further evident from the manner in which the conversion effort was conducted. The complainant was specifically told that he would receive the promised facilities only if he left Hinduism and embraced Christianity. This went beyond the expression or propagation of religious beliefs and involved the use of material benefits to influence an individual's religious affiliation. The reported promise of relief from illness, financial assistance, food supplies and free education also indicated an attempt to make religious conversion appear necessary for accessing basic forms of support. Such conditional inducements were particularly concerning in the context of economically vulnerable individuals, as they placed material relief and personal well-being in direct association with abandoning one's existing faith. Furthermore, the regular religious gatherings at a local resident's house, where people were encouraged to embrace Christianity, demonstrated that what was presented as a simple religious gathering inside a house was in reality an 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. By conducting such gatherings covertly, the Christian accused sought to manipulate vulnerable Hindus, taking advantage of their emotional and social circumstances to push them towards conversion. Additionally, other residents of the settlement were also being approached through similar inducements. The reference to poor and tribal residents was relevant because it pointed towards the targeting of economically disadvantaged sections of the population, whose financial and healthcare-related difficulties could make them more susceptible to such offers. It was also revealed that the accused was carrying out conversion related activities for several years. 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 perpetrator specifically targeted Hindus, which demonstrates 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. 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. These tactics are designed not as acts of charity but as tools to engineer religious change under the guise of social upliftment, particularly among vulnerable and underprivileged communities. Taken together, the explicit conditionality of the benefits, the targeting of a Hindu individual because of his religious identity for religious conversion provided grounds for classifying the incident as a hate crime.