Hindu man lured to convert to Christianity under pretext of curing disease

Case Summary
A Hindu man, Virendra Kumar Diwakar from Jafarpur Mahawan in Uttar Pradesh, was forcibly converted to Christianity in Punjab under the pretext of receiving treatment for his cervical disease. In May 2024, Shankarlal Chaurasia, a resident of Manjhanpur, convinced him that his illness could be cured through exorcism. Shankarlal took him to a church in Jalandhar, where Virendra was reportedly coerced into converting, with several individuals from the Christian community involved. They gave him ₹1,000 and assured him of ₹5 lakh upon his return home. Virendra claimed that Shankarlal’s wife also assured ₹5 lakh for his treatment, but six months passed without any progress or the promised money. On January 18, 2025, Virendra confronted Shankarlal at his house to discuss the situation, only to be abused and physically assaulted. The victim complained to the Manjhanpur police, who registered a case against Shankarlal and his wife for forced conversion and assault.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under the core category of- Predatory Proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category selected 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. In this case, the Christian extremists were offering money and miracle cures to vulnerable Hindus in an attempt to disenfranchise them from their professed faith and convert them to Christianity. Luring Hindus to convert to a different faith by offering money and inducements such as miracle cures for ailments is predatory in nature since the extremists manipulate the specific vulnerabilities of disadvantaged and poor Hindus to manipulate them into conversion. This stems from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is a subject to be dehumanised till they convert. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime.
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 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0

Case Status
Complaint registered

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both