Hindu teenage boy being forced to convert to Christianity by his parents leaves home

Case Summary
A 17-year-old boy from Bhaunti town left his home after leaving a note expressing distress over his family's conversion to Christianity. The boy’s parents filed a kidnapping complaint three days after his disappearance. During the investigation, police discovered a letter left by the teenager at home. The family, originally from Jaunpur’s Madiyava area, had reportedly converted to Christianity three months earlier, according to neighbours. However, the parents refrained from commenting on their conversion. The father, a street vendor selling clothes, supports the family, which includes his wife and two sons, aged 17 and 13. The elder son, a Class 11 student, left home on December 14 at 4 AM, carrying only his school bag and a jacket. On December 16, the family reported the boy missing. Despite initiating a search, the police received limited cooperation from the family. The neighbours told the police that the teenager's parents had converted to Christianity. They used to send the children to the church for prayers every day. This was the reason why the teenager was upset as he was unwilling to accept that religion. During the investigation, a letter written by the boy came to light. In it, he apologized to his parents, stating, “Mummy Papa, please forgive me. I cannot live in this religion. I do not like this religion at all, so I am leaving home. By changing your religion, you gained everything, but you lost me.”
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the database under the category of- 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. In this subcategory, we would only include cases where the victim was harassed, threatened or coerced to convert. Cases where attempts were made to convert but the victim resisted would be documented in another sub-category. 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. In this case, a minor boy was forced to leave his home due to the pressure to abandon Hinduism and adopt Christianity. His distress, as expressed in his letter, highlights the emotional and psychological strain caused by his parents' conversion and their insistence on daily church attendance. This coercive environment led to his drastic decision to run away, clearly illustrating the manipulation and harassment he experienced. The situation exemplifies religious coercion, where the teenager was compelled to act in response to the pressure to abandon his faith and conform to a new religion. Another important aspect here is that the victim was a minor, indicating a lack of consent and a genuine change of conscience. 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. Consequently, cases involving religious manipulation of minors not only represent an infringement on an individual's religious freedom but also demonstrate a calculated strategy of targeting those who are less able to resist or understand the long-term implications of conversion, making it a significant case of religious-motivated hate crime. For this reason, this case has been added to the tracker.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0

Case Status
Complaint registered

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
both