Five Christiam missionaries disparage Hindu deities, attempt to convert 100 women by luring them with inducements
Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
2 October, 2024
Case Summary
In an incident of unlawful religious conversion, five Christian missionaries were trying to lure as many as 100 women into conversion by luring them with various inducements and denigrating Hindu gods and goddesses. Amit Rai, a resident of Sarokhanpur village in Badalpur police station area, filed a complaint in which he stated that Bajrang Dal district convenor Satya Shukla informed activists Ankush Shukla, Amit Mishra, and others about the unlawful conversion taking place. The activists then arrived at the home of Shyamdhari Gautam, a resident of Aonka village, where they found around 100 women gathered. These women were being lured to convert to Christianity by Mahendra Pratap, Pushpa Devi, Ajit Kumar, Manish, and Sujit from Aonka village. Disparaging remarks were also made against Hindu deities. When questioned, the accused reportedly mentioned registering their activities under a society.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to two sub-categories under the primary category 'Predatory Proselytisation'. The first sub-category is 'conversion/attempting 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 this case is being added to is 'converting/attempting to convert by denigrating Hinduism'. The Christian missionaries in this instance coerced the Hindus into renunciating their professed faith, which is a direct result of their doctrinal and intrinsic animosity against Hinduism. They used disparaging remarks against the Hindus' professed faith in an attempt to brainwash them and disenfranchise them from Hinduism. Moreover, they enticed the victims, who were Hindu and came from marginalised families, by offering various allurements to convert. Since the religious animosity harboured by the perpetrators is evident from the details of the case, this case is being added to the hate crime database.
Victim Details
Total Victim
100
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 100
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 100
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 100
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
