Hindu inmates offered inducements and tortured for conversion by Christian jail superintendent; bhajans restricted and Hindu idols replaced with Bible verses
Beed, Maharashtra, India 
12 October, 2025
Case Summary
In Maharashtra, Hindu inmates of Beed District Jail were harassed and tortured for Christian conversion by their Jail Superintendent, Petrus Gaikwad. He offered inducements, prohibited bhajans and removed idols of Hindu deities from the jail. Kalyan Bhave, a Hindu inmate released on bail, revealed that the accused abused his power as a Jail superintendent and pressured inmates, both Hindu and Muslim, to convert to Christianity. He used to lure inmates with money and claimed that he would secure their release if they converted. Inmates were forced to convert, and when they resisted, they were physically assaulted and mentally tortured in an effort to break them. Inmates also reported that bhajans, aartis, kirtans, and other Hindu religious practices were banned after his arrival, and those who resisted conversion were denied food and subjected to brutal assault. Gaikwad had previously served as superintendent in Jalgaon Jail, where a Hindu prisoner named Ravindra Jagtap died after being beaten for refusing to convert. Ravindra’s widow, Jyoti Jagtap, stated that Gaikwad initially sent an employee with ₹1 lakh and later personally came with ₹40 lakh to persuade her husband’s family to withdraw the case. Three Hindu prisoners and one Muslim prisoner were forced to abandon their religions, and written complaints were filed against Gaikwad by the affected inmates. Furthermore, it was also revealed that idols and photos of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Lord Ganesha were removed, while verses from the Bible were prominently displayed throughout the jail. A pastor was allowed to meet the inmates to facilitate conversion, and families and lawyers of the victims highlighted that prisoners were subjected to severe mental and physical torture for non-compliance. As of the date of writing this report, senior jail authorities in Maharashtra had initiated an official investigation into the incident against the accused.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Predatory proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category selected is - Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The other 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- Attempting to convert/ converting by denigrating Hinduism. In several cases, Hindus are converted or an attempt is made to convert Hindus by denigrating their faith, Hinduism. In such cases, the Hindus associate with the non-Hindu perpetrators often by choice and then, the attempt to convert them by insulting their faith, showing the faith down etc begins. An example of this would be a non-Hindu gathering where the Hindus are attending the gathering of their own free will. However, once they attend the gathering, there is an explicit attempt to convert them by abusing their faith and hailing the faith of the perpetrator. The denigration of the Hindu faith is often based on misrepresentation of the Hindu faith, its doctrine and scriptures and insult to espoused traditions if not blatant lies about Hindu beliefs and ways. Such conversions or attempts at conversions are driven by animosity towards the Hindu faith and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. 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. The sub-category selected here is - Murdered for refusing to convert. When there is pressure, threat or coercion employed upon the Hindu victim to convert to a different religion, in several cases, the victim refuses to succumb to the pressure/threats. Once the victim refuses, the perpetrator proceeds to murder the victim owing to his/her refusal to convert. In such cases, the pressure/threat/intimidation/coercion/violence itself is driven by animosity towards the victim’s Hindu faith. The murder then is another hate crime driven by the victim’s refusal to abandon his professed faith, Hinduism, and convert to the religion of the non-Hindu perpetrator. Since the victim’s faith is at the heart of the pressure to convert and the ensuing murder of the victim, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. When there is pressure, threat or coercion employed upon the Hindu victim to convert to a different religion, in several cases, the victim refuses to succumb to the pressure/threats. Once the victim refuses, the perpetrator proceeds to murder the victim owing to his/her refusal to convert. In such cases, the pressure/threat/intimidation/coercion/violence itself is driven by animosity towards the victim’s Hindu faith. The murder then is another hate crime driven by the victim’s refusal to abandon his professed faith, Hinduism, and convert to the religion of the non-Hindu perpetrator. Since the victim’s faith is at the heart of the pressure to convert and the ensuing murder of the victim, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The second primary category selected here is - Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Restriction on expression of Hindu identity. An example of the state-affected prejudicial and targeted orders against the Hindu community would be a government denying the right of a Hindu or a group of Hindus to hold a religious procession owing to the animosity of non-Hindu groups. Denial of the religious right of the Hindus to assuage the non-Hindu group which harbours animosity to a point where it could lead to violence against Hindus is not only a failure of law and order but is a prejudicial order against Hindus, denying them their fundamental rights to express their religious identity. An example of a hate crime against Hindus by a non-Hindu would be a non-Hindu institution forcing its Hindu employees to abandon religious symbols that a Hindu would wear as an expression of faith owing to inherent prejudice against the faith professed by the victim or a non-Hindu group of people restricting a Hindu group from constructing a place of worship simply because the demography of the area in which the temple is being built is dominated by non-Hindus. Such actions are driven by religious animosity and/or prejudice against Hindus and their faith and would therefore be categorized as a hate crime. This case has been added to the tracker because Hindu inmates of Beed District Jail were harassed and tortured for Christian conversion by their Jail Superintendent, Petrus Gaikwad. He attempted to lure Hindu inmates to conversion by offering monetary inducements and securing their freedom. Firstly, offering incentives or making false promises of freedom shows that these incentives are not acts of kindness or charity. Instead, they are calculated moves to exploit vulnerable Hindus because of their religion. By providing inducements or promising freedom in exchange for conversion, the accused were effectively blackmailing those who were desperately in need for relief 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. Secondly, the accused also pressured and mentally and physically tortured inmates to convert to Christianity. Pressuring or harassing a Hindu individual to discard his religious faith and embrace another is a direct attack on his religious identity and dignity. It is not a matter of personal choice; it is coercion rooted in hostility towards the victim's Hindu identity. Such an attempt reflects religious animosity because the act is not simply about personal differences but about erasing the victim’s Hindu faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. Thirdly, when the Hindu inmates refused to convert to Christianity, they were tortured, denied food, and assaulted. This demonstrates that the violence inflicted on Hindu inmates was not random but explicitly conditional on their rejection of conversion. The assault, therefore, became a punishment for retaining their Hindu identity. The use of physical force in this context highlights that the hostility was religiously motivated violence intended to break his resistance and intimidate him into submission. Furthermore, details reveal that one Hindu inmate, Ravindra Jagtap, actually died after being beaten for refusing to convert. Killing someone for refusing to abandon their religion illustrates an extreme form of intimidation and religious hostility. This escalation from coercion to killing illustrates the extreme hostility behind the conversion agenda and the readiness of the perpetrator to use lethal violence against those who refused to abandon their Hindu faith. Such actions reveal the intensity of the hatred against the Hindus and their faith, firmly placing this act within the framework of a hate crime. Fourth, the accused removed pictures of Hindu deities and replaced them with Bibles, along with prohibiting bhajans, aarties and kirtans in the jail. Such actions were not administrative decisions but symbolic assaults on Hindu identity and worship. By erasing Hindu imagery and restricting Hindu devotional practices, the accused sought to suppress the outward displays of Hinduism inside the jail, while promoting Christianity in its place. This was an exercise in religious domination, aimed at transforming the jail into a site of religious reprogramming and forced conversion. It was a direct violation of religious freedom and an act of systemic discrimination against Hindu inmates. The deliberate suppression of Hindu worship and replacement with Christian elements demonstrated an institutionalised form of religious hatred, thereby making this a clear case of a hate crime driven by anti-Hindu bias and coercive proselytisation. Such actions stem from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert. Such acts were not merely personal crimes; they were rooted in a desire to dominate and erase the religious identity of the victims. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer:While there are indications that several jail inmates may have been subjected to coercive religious conversion within the prison setting, the media report specifically mentions that five Hindus were coerced into conversion, one whose name is mentioned, three who lodged complaints and one who died. One Muslim inmate was also mentioned in the report. However, since the Hinduphobia Tracker focuses on documenting atrocities and discrimination specifically targeting Hindus, the victim count for this incident has been recorded as five, reflecting only the Hindu victims.
Victim Details
Total Victim
5
Deceased
1
Gender
- Male 5
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 5
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 5
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
