Hindu men and women lured with monetary inducements to convert to Christianity
Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
30 September, 2025
Case Summary
In Jaunpur’s Rampur area, around 40 Hindus were being lured to abandon their faith with promises of money. The attempt was being carried out at the house of Ashok Kumar Gautam in Rasoolha Gram Sabha, where Harishchandra Gautam, along with a pastor, was pressuring 25 Hindu women and 15 Hindu men to convert. Villagers who arrived at the spot saw Bibles, images of Jesus, and crosses being used, and people inside the house being made to recite Christian prayers. Videos of such prayers were also found on the accused’s mobile phone, exposing how the effort to convert was being systematically orchestrated. Hindu organisations immediately reached the location and raised objections, demanding that the police take strong action to protect the community from such predatory activities. Locals revealed that these efforts had been going on secretly for several months, with vulnerable villagers being targeted through financial inducements. Such exploitation not only takes advantage of economic hardship but also strikes directly at the dignity and identity of Hindus by attempting to sever them from their ancestral faith. The police have since arrested Harishchandra Gautam, and authorities claim that legal action will follow. However, the case once again demonstrates how Hindu villagers are made soft targets of deceitful conversion attempts, where poverty is exploited as a tool to attack their religion and identity.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category - Predatory proselytisation. Within it, the sub-category 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. This case is a clear example of a religiously motivated hate crime. In this incident, three Christian individuals, including a pastor, tried to convert vulnerable Hindu villagers to Christianity by offering inducements such as employment, financial benefits, and false assurances of healing from illness. At the core of this crime is the strategic exploitation of economic vulnerability. The accused specifically targeted underprivileged Hindus, knowing that promises of jobs, money, and health cures could sway individuals struggling with hardship. This form of inducement, when used as a tool for religious conversion, is not only unethical but amounts to manipulation of faith through material enticement. Such behaviour reflects a systematic and deliberate attempt to sever individuals from their identity, undermining both personal faith and community integrity. Hence, this case is added to the hate crime database.
Victim Details
Total Victim
40
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 15
- Female 25
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 40
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 40
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
