Poor Hindu family lured into converting to Christianity with promise of monetary benefits in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh

Case ID : 8da1915 | Location : Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Mon, 16 November, 2020

Case ID : 8da1915

Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India

16 November, 2020

Poor Hindu family lured into converting to Christianity with promise of monetary benefits in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Case Summary

A Hindu family in Nasirpur village, Muzaffarnagar, was lured into conversion to Christianity with promises of a job and money. Workers from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal reached the site and objected to the meeting, before which the pastor and his accomplice had already fled the scene. The police registered a case and are investigating the matter. The incident occurred in the New Mandi Police Station area of Nasirpur village. A 30-year-old man, Lakhan Kataria, belonging to the Schedule Caste community, lived in the village with his wife, Sapna, mother, Baleshwari, and three children. Lakhan worked as a truck driver for the Sangam Hotel, located on the Delhi-Dehradun Highway. On 17th November 2025, a pastor named Jonny and his accomplice from the Christian community in Saharanpur arrived at Lakhan’s house. They tried to convince the family to convert to Christianity through persuasive tactics. The victim reported that they were promised money and work as incentives to convert. He mentioned that around five years ago, he used to attend a church at the Roadways Bus Stand in the city, as well as several churches in Saharanpur and Roorkee. Despite the offers, he had never agreed to conversion. However, he admitted that he had considered the proposition due to the offers made to him. Upon receiving information about the situation, VHP and Bajrang Dal activists arrived at the house and stopped the conversion attempt, but by that time, the pastor and his accomplice had fled the scene. They alerted the police, and Sub-inspector Ramveer Singh from the Gandhi Colony police station arrived to calm the situation. The activists stated that the family was being coerced and enticed with various promises to convert. A woman named Rekha was also present at the site, but Lakhan clarified that she was his sister’s friend, who had been staying with them for two days. Based on Lakhan's complaint, the police have filed a case against Pastor Jonny and his unidentified accomplice. A team has been formed to apprehend the suspects, and the police assured that they would be arrested soon. CO Mandi, Raju Kumar Saw, confirmed the registration of the case and the ongoing investigation.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category: Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory under this is: 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. This case has been added to the tracker because a Hindu family in Nasirpur village was lured and offered inducements for religious conversion by the Christian men. The accused promised the victims job nad money, in exchange for conversion to Christianity. Firstly, offering such inducements or making false promises, especially when directed at vulnerable and economically weaker individuals, is not an act of kindness or charity. It is a calculated effort to exploit their vulnerability because of their religious identity. By providing inducements in exchange for conversion, the accused was effectively blackmailing those who might have been desperate for assistance or hope. Such instances are seen in many cases where members of Christian missionary groups target socially and economically vulnerable Hindus to further their agenda of religious conversions. This form of coercion strips people of their agency and dignity and results in coerced conversions. When evangelists and Christian missionaries focus their efforts on converting individuals of a particular faith, in this instance, Hindus, it reveals a fundamental disregard for that community and its beliefs. Conversion, especially when not based on sincere personal conviction but rather on external persuasion or pressure, is not about sharing a different religion. Instead, it is an attempt to undermine the values, traditions, and identity of the Hindu community. The Indian constitution and culture provide an adult individual the freedom to explore different theological ideas and practice his/her preferred religion. If a person voluntarily explores a different belief system from his/her ancestral one and makes an informed decision to adopt the new ideology. In that case, he/she has the freedom and a constitutionally ensured right to do so, and this act won't be considered as predatory proselytisation or a hate crime. But if a person is influenced into accepting a new religion by paying money and promising other social benefits, it is considered a manipulative conversion. The Christian faith, by its very theological foundations, places a strong emphasis on proselytisation. In pursuit of conversion objectives, Christian evangelists often employ unethical means, ranging from psychological pressure and misinformation to inducements such as money or jobs. These are not random or isolated incidents, but premeditated efforts to undermine the Hindu faith, persuade Hindus to discard their own faith, and convert to Christianity. Such acts were deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims, and thus, this case was added to the tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported. Media reports state that the victim started to face pressure for conversion 5 years ago when he began to visit Churches, though no exact date or month is provided. To document this case, we have used an indicative date and month based on date of incident: 17th November 2020 as a placeholder to represent the beginning of the manipulation. Disclaimer: The report states that approximately multiple individuals attended the prayer meeting but does not specify an exact number. For documentation purposes, the victim count is recorded as unknown.