Hindu man targeted with inducement for Christian conversion, investigations reveal massive network targeting Dalit and poor Hindus

Case ID : a049161 | Location : Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 29 October, 2025

Case ID : a049161

Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

29 October, 2025

Hindu man targeted with inducement for Christian conversion, investigations reveal massive network targeting Dalit and poor Hindus

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Pattern of targeting Hindus

Case Summary

In Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu man named Virendra Vishwakarma was offered inducements for religious conversion by Christian missionaries. According to reports, the Hindu man said he was forced to Christianity by Christian missionaries who offered him inducements in the form of medical treatment and marriage. The victim, who has now returned to Hinduism, stated that prayer meetings were held every Thursday morning and evening, where Hindus were given water in the name of Jesus and their names were recorded in a register after conversion. As his case came to light, investigations uncovered a much larger network of organised conversion activity operating across Jaunpur. Investigations revealed that due to increased police vigilance in Jaunpur, Christian missionary networks have adopted various deceptive methods in order to avoid detection and evade legal scrutiny. In Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, ASHA workers had become central agents in this conversion operation. One such ASHA worker admitted that she had converted many Hindus to Christianity and was now helping others to do the same. She revealed that innocent Hindu residents were taken to Bhullanpur in Varanasi for mass prayer meetings, with 250 to 300 people gathering at a time, with the intention of converting them. These gatherings were being held online or via mobile phone to avoid police action. Every Sunday and Friday, new participants were added to these virtual prayer meetings. Furthermore, missionaries primarily targeted poor, Dalit, and backwards-class Hindus. Missionaries first approached children, using them as an entry point into families. Financial inducements were offered in the form of educational aid, marriage expenses, or medical treatment, gradually fostering emotional and financial dependence. Once trust was established, families were drawn into prayer meetings, given water sanctified in the name of Jesus, and their details were recorded in registers. The commission for each conversion ranged between ₹25,000 and ₹50,000. Additionally, instead of forcing or encouraging converts to change their names and surnames, missionaries ensured that individuals retained their original Hindu names, caste certificates, and official documents. This tactic allowed converts to continue availing themselves of government welfare schemes, caste-based reservations, and social benefits while concealing their changed faith.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Predatory proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category 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, with the tertiary category being - 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 a Hindu man named Virendra Vishwakarma from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, was lured and offered inducements for religious conversion by Christian missionaries operating through covert networks. Firstly, the very act of offering inducements or material benefits in exchange for conversion, such as promises of medical treatment or marriage, cannot be viewed as charity. It is a calculated effort to exploit their vulnerability because of their religious identity. By providing inducements in exchange for conversion, the accused was effectively blackmailing those who might have been desperate for assistance or hope. Secondly, Virendra revealed that prayer meetings were held regularly every Thursday morning and evening, in which Hindus were converted. Investigations also revealed that the victims were targeted for conversion under the guise of Christian prayer meetings, both physical and virtual. The act of inviting Hindus to a prayer gathering, while simultaneously conducting conversion activities, demonstrates that these meetings were not genuine religious sessions or community prayers. Instead, they were calculated efforts to exploit the trust and social cohesion within the Hindu community by disguising conversion attempts as routine gatherings. Thirdly, the entire conversion operation by the missionaries was built on deliberate deception, proving its illegal and unethical nature. Missionaries instructed converts to retain their Hindu names, caste identities, and official documents so that they could continue availing themselves of government welfare schemes and caste-based reservations while concealing their change of religion to avoid suspicion. This deception was not incidental but strategic, intended to hide the true scale of conversion activities and to prevent detection by authorities. This deception also reveals the anti-Hindu character of the campaign. The missionaries’ deliberate choice to target only Hindus, while instructing converts to remain outwardly Hindu in name and caste, shows that the aim was not spiritual transformation but infiltration and subversion of Hindu society from within. Missionaries sought to weaken the Hindu community’s social and religious cohesion. Furthermore, the conversion network’s focus on Dalits, backward classes, and economically weaker Hindus reveals a pattern of targeted exploitation. By preying upon those already marginalised within the social hierarchy, the missionaries targeted the most vulnerable segments of Hindu society, seeking to use them as entry points for broader proselytisation. When individuals or groups focus their efforts on converting members of a particular religion, in this case, Hindus, then it demonstrates a fundamental disregard for the Hindu faith. Conversion, especially when not based on personal conviction but rather on external persuasion or pressure, is not simply about sharing a different belief system. It is an attempt to undermine the values, traditions, and identity of the Hindu community. In this context, the Christian perpetrators specifically targeted Hindus, which demonstrates a lack of respect for Hinduism and its followers. Such actions are carried out to strip Hindu victims of their faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. 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 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: Although reports indicate that multiple Hindus were targeted and that prayer meetings were conducted where over 250–300 Hindus were converted, only one victim — Virendra Vishwakarma — has come forward to provide a statement. Therefore, for documentation purposes, the victim count has been recorded as 1. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case has specified the exact date when the victim's ordeal began. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media - 30 October 2025.