Poor Hindu villagers lured to convert to Christianity, Hindu deities insulted
Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh, India 
30 August, 2025
Case Summary
Poor Hindus were being lured to convert with inducements in Ahiri village of Mau, Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh. On Sunday morning (August 31, 2025), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal activists confronted a group accused of luring villagers to Christianity and insulting Hindu deities. Police arrived at the scene, calmed tensions, and later registered a case against four evangelists. According to VHP member Mukesh Bajpai, Phoolchand of Ahiri village, along with Rajkumar Patwa of Kaushambi, Santlal of Ramnagar, and Babulal of Arjunpur Khandeha, was holding conversion meetings where villagers were being persuaded to renounce Hinduism. Reports indicate that the accused not only promoted Christianity but also demeaned Hindu gods, spreading hostility towards Hindu beliefs. When local activists attempted to intervene, arguments broke out between the two groups. Although some villagers claimed they were merely in conversation, VHP workers stated that these were well-planned conversion drives targeting impoverished Hindus. Acting on Bajpai’s complaint, police filed a First Information Report (FIR) under charges of religious conversion, propagation, and incitement against the Hindu faith, leading to the arrest of the four accused. Villageres testified that Phoolchand had been involved in Christian missionary activities for years. VHP district committee member Ankit Shukla stated that Phoolchand, himself a Christian convert, had been operating under missionary instructions, building a network to pressure and entice poor villagers into conversion. He explained that money was used as bait to lure the impoverished, after which they were indoctrinated through Bible study sessions organised in homes or group gatherings across rural areas.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category in this case is: Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory under this 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. Another subcategory under this 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 third sub-category relevant here is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination and within this, 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 it shows how poor Hindus in Ahiri village of Mau, Chitrakoot, were being targeted for religious conversion through inducements and insults to their faith. Christian missionary workers, led by Phoolchand, who had already converted, offered money and promises of better opportunities to persuade vulnerable Hindus to abandon their faith. Luring Hindus to convert to a different faith by offering money and inducements 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. Such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents. Beyond inducements, there was a concerted attempt to demean Hinduism. Testimonies indicate that during these conversion gatherings, Hindu gods and goddesses were openly insulted. By portraying Hindu traditions and deities as inferior, perpetrators sought to create shame and doubt in their victims, breaking their spiritual ties to Hindu Dharma. This matches the subcategory of conversion through denigrating Hinduism, where misrepresentations, slander, and ridicule of Hindu beliefs become tools to psychologically manipulate victims into abandoning their faith. Here, the villagers testified that the accused were carrying out the proselytisation activities for quite sometime. This case, therefore, is not an isolated episode but part of a deeply entrenched pattern of religiously motivated hate. It reflects a targeted, systematic, and religiously motivated campaign to undermine Hindu identity in vulnerable communities. Both the inducement of economically disadvantaged Hindus and the deliberate vilification of Hindu traditions highlight the hate-driven nature of this crime. This is not religious freedom but predatory exploitation, using poverty and propaganda to disenfranchise Hindus from their ancestral faith.
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
