Minor Hindu girl kidnapped, sexually exploited and converted by Christian missionary
Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, India 
29 November, 2024
Case Summary
A case of conversion conspiracy and kidnapping of a minor Hindu girl surfaced in Narmadapuram district, Madhya Pradesh, involving a Christian missionary organisation. The findings were made by former NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanungo, who accused "Jeevodaya Bal Dekhbhal Sanstha," run by Sister Clara Animotti, of being involved in the incident. Kanungo stated that a Christian boy kidnapped a Hindu girl from the OBC community residing at Jeevodaya Sanstha. He said the motive was sexual exploitation and a conspiracy to convert the victim. After two days, the girl was reportedly recovered illegally and handed over to the accused’s sister, Mona Masih, without proper legal procedures. Kanungo also accused local authorities of suppressing the matter and giving a clean chit to the missionary organisation, raising suspicions of a larger human trafficking and conversion racket. Kanungo criticised the local administration and police for shielding the organisation. He also accused child rights groups of remaining silent due to their ties with church-run organisations. The police have since registered a case and initiated an investigation. Sister Clara, on the other hand, denied the allegations, calling them baseless. She shifted the blame to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), stating her organisation was not responsible for any negligence.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Predatory Proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Further, based on case details, two tertiary categories, namely, 'conversion of minor' and 'rape and sexual assault/harassment' have also been selected for this case. 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. Here, NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanungo revealed a case of illegal conversion where a minor Hindu girl was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and converted to Christianity. He also accused the Christian NGP of being involved in the illegal conversion of the minor victim. The purpose behind the violence employed was to coerce the victim to abandon her faith and accept Islam. The underlying motivation of predatory proselytisation itself is animosity towards the professed faith of the victim. In this case, there was violence involved in the pressure exerted to forcefully convert the Hindu girl. Further, the central aim of the perpetrators was to disenfranchise the Hindu girl from her professed faith. Since the central motivation is religion, this case has been added as a hate crime. Further, it may be noted here that the offence was against a minor, which essentially means that the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully matured, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, especially when employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence, in this case, the Christian NGO. The accused exploited the victim's vulnerability to convert her to Christianity. Since the underlying offence was against a minor of a specific faith and involved indoctrination and illegal conversion, this case is being categorised as a hate crime.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 1
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
