Hindus targeted for conversion by Christian evangalist in Chhattisgarh: Hindu deities denigrated and Christianity promoted under guise of healing prayers
Mungeli, Chhattisgarh, India 
26 July, 2025
Case Summary
In Mungeli district, Chhattisgarh, Hindus were targeted for conversion by a Christian man named Badri Sahu. The accused gathered members of the Hindu community in a house under the pretext of 'healing meetings'. After this, he manipulated Hindus and denigrated Hinduism and Hindu deities to convert them to Christianity. According to media reports, the accused instructed Hindu families to recite Christian prayers and told them that by embracing Christianity, they would not face any problems in their lives. He made derogatory remarks regarding Hindu gods and Hinduism by stating, “Your gods and goddesses cannot do anything. Lord Jesus is the way to welfare; your Hindu religion is useless.” In this way, he attempted to convert people by misleading and disparaging their faith. Following these activities, Yashwant Singh Parihar, a local resident aged 45, informed the police of the incident. He submitted a written application to City Kotwali Mungeli, detailing that members of the Hindu community were being converted by Badri Sahu, a resident of Sarangpur Kabirdham, at the house of Sunil Kumar Lal in Majgaon Para in the Tilak Ward in Mungeli. Upon receiving the complaint, the police promptly arrived at the location, halted the 'healing meeting', and arrested Badri Sahu. Following this, action was taken against Badri Sahu by registering a case under Section 299 of the BNS and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act, 1968.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the subcategory 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. The other subcategory selected is- Attempting to convert/ converting by denigrating Hinduism. In several cases, Hindus are converted or an attempt is made to convert Hindus by denigrating their faith, Hinduism. In such cases, the Hindus associate with the non-Hindu perpetrators often by choice and then, the attempt to convert them by insulting their faith, showing the faith down etc begins. An example of this would be a non-Hindu gathering where the Hindus are attending the gathering of their own free will. However, once they attend the gathering, there is an explicit attempt to convert them by abusing their faith and hailing the faith of the perpetrator. The denigration of the Hindu faith is often based on misrepresentation of the Hindu faith, its doctrine and scriptures and insult to espoused traditions if not blatant lies about Hindu beliefs and ways. Such conversions or attempts at conversions are driven by animosity towards the Hindu faith and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The other subcategory 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, in Mungeli, Hindus were lured into converting to Christianity through promises that their problems would be resolved if they abandoned their Hindu faith. Techniques such as denigrating Hinduism and employing various forms of psychological manipulation were used to facilitate the religious conversion. The nature of the conversion effort, along with its wider impact on the Hindu community, clearly indicated a targeted action against Hindus because of their religious identity. When individuals or groups associated with Christian missionaries focus their efforts on converting members of a specific religion, in this case, Hindus, it demonstrates a profound disregard for that faith and its followers. Conversion should be a matter of personal conviction, not the result of external persuasion or manipulation. Attempts to convert Hindu individuals in this manner ultimately seek to undermine the values, traditions, and collective identity of the Hindu community. In this instance, Christian missionaries specifically targeted Hindus, revealing a lack of respect and consideration for Hinduism and its adherents. Such acts are designed to strip Hindu villagers of their faith, making this a clear case of a religiously motivated hate crime. Moreover, the Christian perpetrator manipulated vulnerable Hindus by making them chant Christian prayers and assured them that all their problems would be solved if they embraced Christianity. The perpetrator had gathered Hindus under the guise of 'healing meetings'. These actions were calculated attempts to exploit the desperation of individuals solely on the basis of their religion. By offering such inducements to convert, the perpetrator emotionally blackmailed those Hindus who might have been searching for assistance or relief from their problems. Such practices are widespread in many areas, where Christian missionary groups deliberately target the socially and economically disadvantaged within the Hindu community to advance their conversion agenda. This form of coercion robs Hindus of their agency and dignity and constitutes an act of enforced conversion. These are not random or isolated incidents, but rather systematic and premeditated efforts aimed at undermining Hindu faith, persuading Hindu individuals to abandon their own beliefs, and convert to Christianity. These acts are deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindus. The Christian perpetrator also sought to brainwash Hindus, insisting that Jesus was the only path to welfare and proclaiming Hindu gods and Hinduism as worthless. This demonstrated a blatant misuse of manipulation to convert vulnerable, innocent Hindu villagers to Christianity, once again underlining the clear religious motivation behind these crimes. Additionally, this behaviour of denigrating Hinduism and Hindu gods goes beyond mere religious debate or proselytisation; it is an act of incitement and direct insult to the core beliefs of the Hindu community. Such comments are designed to demean and undermine the Hindu faith, creating an environment of hostility and disrespect. These acts of insulting Hinduism stem from Christian theology, which harbours disdain and hatred for polytheistic faiths, and which categorises Hindus as ‘polytheists’, thereby fostering hatred against them. This makes it an instance of a crime motivated by religious animosity towards the Hindu community. These instances of targeted proselytisation activities stem from inherent hostility towards the Hindu community and their faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to their faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert, making it a religiously motivated crime against Hindus. Since this case meets many parameters of a religiously motivated attack against Hindus and their faith; therefore, it is being added to the hate crime database.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
