Hindu villagers lured to abandon their faith and adopt Christianity on Christmas in Bijnor, UP
Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India 
24 December, 2025
Case Summary
On 25 December 2025, in Ghanwala village of Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, Hindu villagers were forced to convert to Christianity by three converted Christian brothers, namely, Dinesh, Vinod, and Mohan, by luring them with money. As per reports, on the eve of Christmas, a religious event was organised in the village by the family of the three Christian brothers, Dinesh, Vinod, and Mohan. Several Hindu villagers were invited to this event. During the programme, Hindu villagers were specifically targeted and lured to convert to Christianity by offering money and by hurting their religious sentiments. Those who opposed conversion were threatened with implication in false criminal cases. Upon receiving this information, a large number of people from Ghanwala village, including Mukesh, Naresh Vikas, Tushar, Kalyan Singh, Vipin Kumar, Arjun Kehar Singh, Surendra Singh, and Vikas Kumar, reached the Kotwali City police station in tractor-trolleys. They complained to the police and accused three individuals from the village of converting members of the Hindu community. The villagers demanded an immediate ban on religious conversions in the village. The accused had themselves converted several years ago and, thereafter, had already converted many people from the village to Christianity. Meanwhile, the family involved in the conversions levelled serious allegations against the villagers, accusing them of destroying crops. On receiving the information, CO City Sangram Singh and police personnel reached the spot and resolved the matter by convincing the people. A complaint was filed regarding the Christmas Day event, and an investigation is underway based on the villagers’ allegations.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in the case is: Predatory Proselytisation. There are three sub-categories selected in the present case. The first sub-category is Conversions/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 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. 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, the Hindu villagers were specifically identified and targeted for conversion to Christianity during a religious event. The selection of victims was based on their Hindu religious identity, making the act religion-specific and discriminatory in nature. Money was used as a tool to persuade Hindu villagers to abandon their religion. Exploiting economic vulnerability to weaken and replace Hindu religious belief constitutes systematic religious coercion, and a concocted way of inducing the hindus to convert. Moreover, the Hindus who refused to convert were threatened with false criminal cases and harassed by hurting their religious sentiments. The use of fear, legal intimidation, and social pressure to suppress Hindu religious choice qualifies as religious harassment and intimidation. The conversion activity included acts that hurt Hindu religious sentiments. Undermining and insulting Hindu belief systems during conversion efforts constitutes hostility towardthe Hindu religion and culture. The conversion effort was organised, deliberate, and repeated. The accused individuals had already converted multiple Hindu villagers in the past, establishing a pattern of sustained religious interference targeting a Hindu population. Therefore, this case fits the hate crime category of predatory proselytisation.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
