Hindu villagers pressured to convert to Christianity through monetary benefits, health treatment and education
Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
13 December, 2025
Case Summary
Hindu villagers were targeted for religious conversion through monetary inducements by Christian Missionaries during a gathering held at a church in a village under the Dehat Kotwali police station area in Mirzapur district. Following this, a case was registered late on Sunday (December 14, 2025) night against 11 people. Acting on the information received, the police conducted a raid at the location and took five people into custody, including a pastor. The case was registered based on a written complaint submitted by Anand Dubey, a local Hindu farmer. He stated that he was invited to attend the gathering at the church and that, upon reaching the venue, he found around 35 to 40 villagers present, who belonged to Hindu families. According to the complaint, the gathering focused on influencing Hindu villagers to change their religion. Dubey stated that inducements were offered to the villagers during the gathering. These included assurances of financial assistance, medical treatment, education for children and other facilities. He stated that after understanding the nature of what was taking place, he left the spot and informed the police. Following the complaint and prior inputs, the police reached the location and detained five individuals present at the site. The pastor taken into custody was identified as Bhola Nath Patel, who was stated to be originally from Ghazipur district. A case was registered against a total of 11 people in connection with the matter.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is documented under the primary category: Predatory Proselytisation, under which it is documented in two sub-categories. The first subcategory 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 second sub-category is: Predatory Proselytisation, grooming, brainwashing, manipulation, and subtle indoctrination; under which, the tertiary categories are: The victim says was brainwashed/groomed and 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 constituted a hate crime because the actions described were directed at individuals based on their religious identity as Hindus and were not incidental or random. The conduct described in the complaint reflected a targeted effort to influence members of a specific religious community through structured and sustained methods rather than a one-time interaction. The victim described being invited to a gathering that appeared ordinary in nature but later revealed itself to be centred on persuading Hindu villagers to abandon their faith. The use of inducements such as financial assistance, medical support, and educational help for children indicated an attempt to exploit economic and social vulnerabilities. These offers were not made in a neutral context but were tied directly to changing religious identity, which transformed the interaction into one of coercive persuasion rather than free choice. The circumstances also pointed to a pattern of manipulation rather than spontaneous discussion. The gathering involved a sizeable group of villagers from Hindu families, suggesting deliberate outreach to a particular community. The setting, messaging, and promises created an environment where psychological pressure could be exerted subtly, making resistance difficult, especially for economically or socially vulnerable individuals. The victim’s account indicated that persuasion was gradual and framed as benevolent assistance, a method commonly associated with grooming and indoctrination. The victim’s statement further suggested a broader pattern rather than an isolated incident. The presence of preparations for a larger programme around a specific date reinforced the view that the activity was organised and sustained. This indicated an intention to repeatedly target Hindu villagers using similar methods, thereby establishing a pattern of religious targeting. Taken together, the selective focus on Hindus, the use of inducements tied to religious change, and the structured nature of the engagement demonstrated that the act was not merely an unlawful activity but one rooted in religious hostility and exploitation. The harm extended beyond the individual complainant to the wider Hindu community, making the offence one of hate-driven conduct aimed at undermining religious identity through manipulation and pressure. Thus, it is added to the tracker. Disclaimer: The case mentions that between 35 and 40 individuals were baptised by the accused, but does not provide an exact number. For documentation purposes, we have recorded the maximum count of 40 victims in the database. Further, no specific gender breakdown is provided, except for the name of one male victim, Anand Dubey, a local Hindu farmer, who submitted the written complaint against the accused. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have selected one male victim and kept the gender of the other 39 as unknown.
Victim Details
Total Victim
40
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 39
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 10 to 100
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
