Minor Tribal Hindu girls lured with money, persuaded to visit church and convert to Christianity in Chhattisgarh
Surguja, Chhattisgarh, India 
13 September, 2025
Case Summary
In the Mainpat area of Surguja district, Chhattisgarh, tribal Hindu minor girls were lured with monetary incentives to convert to Christianity. They were also motivated to visit the church in order to manipulate them into conversion. The activity was carried out by a Christian woman named Aarti Manjhi. According to media reports, this incident came to light when a Hindu villager, Dilbar Yadav, stated that girls of the tribal Manjhi community were being enticed and encouraged to attend church. The accused woman also gave money to the girls. The relatives of the girls demanded strict action against her. When complainant Dilbar Yadav reached the police station, the families of the girls also accompanied him. They all informed the police about the conversion attempt. According to Dilbar Yadav, on 14th September 2025, Aarti Manjhi, wife of Satram Manjhi and resident of village Sarabhanja, was on her way to Barima Church at around 9.30 am in order to baptise the minor Hindu girls of the village. The family of the victims and the Dharma Raksha Samiti Mainpat, a Hindu organisation, came to know of this and immediately reached the spot, where they questioned the accused. The villagers also recorded a video of the place as evidence. ASP (Assistant Superintendent of Police) Amolak Singh Dhillon stated that a case was registered against Aarti Manjhi under Section 5(a) of the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act and that the matter was under investigation. Local MLA Ram Kumar Toppo said, “As soon as information was received that religious conversion was taking place here, the police immediately reached the spot. Some accused persons were taken into custody and were being questioned, and more arrests may follow.”
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/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 other subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation, or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary categories selected are- Conversion of minor and Family claims grooming. 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, it is first important to note that the victims are minor Hindu girls. This means the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. Minors, due to their young age and lack of maturity, are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and coercion. They may not have the ability to fully understand the implications of converting to another religion, and the Christian perpetrator purposely targeted and exploited this vulnerability of the minor victims. Since this case exemplifies the use of coercion and manipulation to achieve religious conversion, it is a blatant act of a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus. The Christian perpetrator also lured the minor Hindu girls with money to adopt Christianity. This clearly demonstrates that these actions were not motivated by kindness or charity. Instead, they were calculated attempts to exploit vulnerable victims specifically because of their religion. The Christian perpetrator was effectively emotionally blackmailing the vulnerable Hindu girls who might have been desperate for assistance. 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 Hindus of their agency and dignity and enforces forced conversions. These are not random or isolated incidents, but rather are 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 their faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. The Christian perpetrator systematically manipulated and persuaded the Hindu victims to visit the church frequently. This was not a spontaneous religious invitation but a calculated effort to immerse the victims in Christian religious practices and places of worship. The repeated visits to the church were used as a tool to familiarise and condition the victims to the new faith environment, thus making them susceptible to conversion. This deliberate introduction and enforced participation in Christian rituals underscore a malicious intent to alter the victims' religious identity forcibly. Such orchestrated efforts reveal a clear motive of religious hostility, aiming to diminish Hindu practices and replace them with Christian ones through manipulation and coercion. These instances of targeted proselytisation activities stem from inherent hostility towards the victims' professed 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 multiple parameters of a religiously motivated attack against Hindus and their faith, it is being added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: Media reports stated that when the police reached the spot, they arrested multiple individuals from there. This indicates that, along with Aarti Manjhi, the main accused, several other persons were also involved. However, since the media reports do not specify the total number of perpetrators involved in this case, a conservative estimate is maintained, and the perpetrator count is recorded as '1', referring solely to Aarti Manjhi.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
female
Sources 
