Hindu women and children targeted, lured with money to convert to Christianity
Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
24 March, 2025
Case Summary
In Tikar village in Uttar Pradesh's Fatehpur district, police detained Pastor Chandan for running an illegal conversion racket where he was converting Hindu women and children to Christianity by luring them with money. According to the police, the religious activities were taking place in a closed room within the Asauthar police station area. A Bible and a diary were recovered from the site. The diary contained records of the conversion of over 50 individuals. The accused is said to be linked to a missionary organisation in Jalandhar. According to the district coordinator of Bajrang Dal, Pastor Chandan was converting impoverished individuals by enticing them with financial aid, education, and employment opportunities. People were gathered under the pretense of prayer meetings. A case was registered against Pastor Chandan under Section 3/5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime 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. The second sub-category selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination and the tertiary category selected under this is- Conversion of minor. 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. In this case, the Christian extremists were offering money to vulnerable Hindu women and children in an attempt to disenfranchise them from their professed faith and convert them to Christianity. Luring people to convert to a different faith by offering money and inducements such as money, free food, free education or free medical treatment is predatory in nature since the extremists manipulate the specific vulnerabilities of the disadvantaged and the poor 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 victim's faith, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime. It is important to note that the victims included children, 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 mature, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, especially when employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. This makes it challenging for parents to identify and address instances of religious manipulation. 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 religiously motivated hate crime. For this reason, this case has been added to the tracker.
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
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