Hindu man lured with inducements for Christian conversion; Hindu activists attacked and threatened for resisting conversion

Case ID : 99585cd | Location : Banswara, Rajasthan, India | Date of Incident : Tue, 2 September, 2025

Case ID : 99585cd

Banswara, Rajasthan, India

2 September, 2025

Hindu man lured with inducements for Christian conversion; Hindu activists attacked and threatened for resisting conversion

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Case Summary

In Bichhawara village of Banswara district, Rajasthan, a Hindu man named Kaluram was lured and offered inducements for religious conversion by Christian evangelists. Even Hindu activists who handed over the evangelist perpetrators to the police were subjected to violence and death threats. According to reports, the Hindu man stated that he was approached at his house by some individuals who offered him ₹5000 per month along with free education and medical treatment on the condition that he convert to Christianity. When members of Vishwa Hindu Yuva Janjati Sangathan (a Hindu organisation) came to know about the incident, they immediately reached the spot and brought all the accused to the police station. The police registered a case against the accused for illegal conversion. Meanwhile, some supporters of the primary accused, RP Patresh, arrived at the police station armed with sticks and began abusing and assaulting the members of the Hindu organisation. During the confrontation, Kamlesh Damor, district president of the organisation, received death threats for opposing the conversion activities and subsequently lodged a complaint. As of the date of writing this report, the investigations for both cases were ongoing.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The first 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. The second primary category selected here is - Attack not resulting in death. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. This case has been added to the tracker because a Hindu man was offered monetary inducements, along with free education and medical treatment, in exchange for converting to Christianity. Offering such incentives, 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 religious identity. By providing inducements 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. 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. 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 are deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims, and thus, this case was added to the tracker. Furthermore, when the accused was arrested, his supporters came and attacked the members of the Hindu organisation, including issuing death threats to Kamlesh Damor. Hindu organisation members were attacked precisely because they stood against predatory conversion activities targeting Hindus; the violence was directed at them for defending their faith and resisting religious manipulation of members of their community. Such violence in response to resistance against forced conversion is a textbook example of a religiously motivated crime against Hindus. Similarly, issuing death threats to Kamlesh Damor, who objected to the conversion events, shows that the Christian perpetrators sought to silence and intimidate the Hindu community with fear and violence, directly targeting them for standing against predatory Christian conversion. Given that this case meets multiple parameters of a religiously motivated crime, it is being added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: Media reports indicated that the Christian perpetrators and their accomplices were many in number. However, the reports did not specify the exact count. They mentioned only one accused, R. R. Patresh. Therefore, for documentation, we are using a conservative estimate and recording the perpetrator count as '1'.