Christian man re-arrested with several others in conversion case after being released

Case Summary
Around 1.5 months after being jailed in a conversion case, a man in Siddhi district’s Bahri area was detained again under similar circumstances. The incident occurred in Mayapur village, where Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal workers reported Christian conversion activities in a tribal settlement near the Higher Secondary School. The workers found Babulal Jaiswal and others with materials reportedly used for conversions. Upon their arrival, around 20-25 people were present, but 12-13 fled the scene. The VHP and Bajrang Dal workers prevented others from leaving and informed the police. The police, led by Station In-charge Rakesh Bais, seized religious materials and brought eight individuals to the station for questioning. According to Ramesh Singh from the VHP, the group had received prior information about conversion activities in the area. Police confirmed the seizure of materials linked to a specific religion and stated that legal action would follow after the interrogation. Investigations were ongoing to ascertain the facts surrounding the conversions.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the category- Predatory proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious grooming or brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such grooming or brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes.

Case Status
Complaint filed

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
both