Case Summary

In the Kundavali village of Budaun district, Uttar Pradesh, Hindu villagers were offered inducements and targeted for conversion by Christian missionaries. The missionaries operated the conversion network under the guise of a prayer meeting. According to reports, a Christian missionary organised a prayer meeting every Sunday at the house of a Christian woman named Anju. The house was effectively converted into a church where illegal conversion used to take place. Hindu villagers, who attended these meetings, were offered money by the missionaries in order to push them towards conversion. Missionaries used to lure people by claiming that praying could relieve their pain and suffering. When police raided the premises, it was revealed that about 30 people were persuaded to change their religion. Villagers reported that to convert to Christianity, people were made to stand in a tank filled with water and take an oath. Evidence recovered from the accused's mobile phones also corroborated these accounts, showing groups of people waist-deep in water, engaged in prayer. During the raid, four individuals were detained by the police. Those detained were Hadesh and his wife Neetu (both residents of Kasganj), Bobby (resident of Bisauli) and Anju (resident of Kundavali). During interrogation, it was revealed that Hadesh had converted to Christianity, along with his wife, and used to call himself Bikki Pastor. Furthermore, it was also revealed that such conversion activities had been going on for about six years. Despite the duration and scale of these activities, the police and local intelligence apparatus failed to detect the operations.

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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- Conversion/ attempting 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 other subcategory selected in this case is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary category selected is- Pattern of targeting Hindus. 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. This case has been added to the tracker because Hindu villagers were targeted for conversion by Christian missionaries under the guise of deceptive prayer meetings. They offered money and claimed that prayers would relieve suffering in order to push Hindus towards conversion. Offering incentives or making false promises, especially when directed at vulnerable individuals in need, shows that these incentives are not acts of kindness or charity. Instead, they are calculated moves to exploit vulnerable Hindus because of their religion. By providing inducements or promising healing in exchange for conversion, the accused were 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. These are not random or isolated incidents, but rather cases deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims. Additionally, the tactic of using false promises of relieving pain and suffering through prayers was also a clear form of inducement and subtle brainwashing. Hindus were made to believe that their hardships could only be overcome if they embraced Christianity. This represented a coordinated effort to manipulate Hindus to facilitate conversions. Such actions were intended to undermine the religious and cultural identity of Hindus through manipulation, coercion, and improper means. The missionaries repeatedly held prayer meetings, lured Hindus with inducements, and employed subtle brainwashing techniques, showing a sustained effort to erode Hindu faith. The continuity and persistence of these conversion activities against the Hindu community reveal a deliberate pattern aimed at undermining Hindu religious identity, making it a clear case of hate crime directed at Hindus. 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. In such cases, Christian missionary groups often target and brainwash socially and economically vulnerable Hindus to further their agenda of religious conversions. This form of coercion strips Hindus of their agency and dignity and enforces forced conversions. These are not random or isolated incidents, but rather 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: Media reports indicated that the conversion activities had been ongoing for six years, beginning in 2019. Therefore, for the purposes of documentation, we have used an indicative date—25 August 2019—as a placeholder to mark the start of these activities. Although media coverage of the case emerged on 25 August 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, rather than when it was reported.