Pastor and other extremists attempt to convert Hindus by offering money and miracle cures

Case ID : 595491b | Location : Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 7 December, 2024
Case ID : 595491b
location Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India
date 7 December, 2024
Pastor and other extremists attempt to convert Hindus by offering money and miracle cures
Predatory Proselytisation
Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Case Summary

In the Partapur area of Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh, the police uncovered a massive Christian conversion racket Police rescued nearly 50 Hindus from a ‘medical camp cum prayer meeting’ called Masihi Prathana Sabha in the Shankar Colony. In this case, Meerut Police has arrested the accused Vineet Pastor and his accomplices under the stringent Uttar Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act. The police detained 15 people including Vinit, his wife Payal, cousins Pramod, Luv, Kunal, Satendra, Johnny Khekdi, Sheshnag, Anoin, Nitin, Sangeeta, Geeta and others. The FIR names Vineet Pastor as the main accused and states that he was organising such prayer meetings in various cities to lure Hindus into converting to Christianity by offering monetary benefits alongside miraculous cures for their diseases. According to locals, prayer meetings are held every Sunday at the house and are attended by a large number of people. Vineet’s wife Payal, mother Geeta, brother Johnny and sister-in-law Sangeeta were his partners in the effort, along with other people. He was paid huge amounts by Christian organisations for his efforts and soon became a millionaire. Apart from the makeshift church, Vineet Pastor also organised ‘medical camps’ at various places.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the primary category "Predatory Proselytisation' under the sub-category '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. In this case, the Christian extremists were offering money and miracle cures to vulnerable Hindus in an attempt to disenfranchise them from their professed faith and convert them to Christianity. Luring Hindus to convert to a different faith by offering money and inducements such as miracle cures for ailments is predatory in nature since the extremists manipulate the specific vulnerabilities of disadvantaged and poor Hindus to manipulate them into conversion. This stems from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is a subject to be dehumanised till they convert. 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.

Victim Details

Total Victim

50

Deceased

0


Gender

  • Male 0
  • Female 0
  • Third Gender 0
  • Unknown 50

Caste

  • SC/ST 0
  • OBC 0
  • General 0
  • Unknown 50

Age Group

  • Minor 0
  • Adult 0
  • Senior Citizen 0
  • Unknown 50
Case Status Background
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Case Status


Arrested

Case Status Background
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Perpetrators Details

Perpetrators


Christian Extremists

Perpetrators Range


From 10 to 100

Perpetrators Gender


both

Case Details SVG
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