Hindu villagers targeted for conversion by Christian missionaries through inducements and anti-Hindu speeches
Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, India 
15 November, 2025
Case Summary
In the Khindoda village of Baghpat district, Uttar Pradesh, Hindu villagers were indoctrinated and offered inducements for religious conversion by three Christian missionaries. The missionaries also delivered inflammatory speeches and insulted Hinduism to mislead and brainwash villagers into conversion. According to reports, the Christian missionaries identified as Rohit Srivastava and Pooja Srivastava from Jamshedpur, and Jyoti from Falavada, Meerut, first contacted a local woman and befriended her from Khindoda village named Lalita through Facebook. They gradually built a relationship with her, and through her, they began reaching out to other households in the village. Subsequently, they began visiting the village, meeting women from poor families, and promoting Christianity in the village. On 16 November 2025, when the Christian missionaries arrived in the village, they gathered several Hindu villagers, including women, at the house of a local villager, Arjun. They began delivering inflammatory speeches, denigrating Hinduism, and influencing Hindu villagers to convert to Christianity. Missionaries also attempted to lure Hindu women from poor families by offering inducements, including claiming to alleviate their financial hardships and illnesses. They also offered one lakh rupees to each family upon their conversion. A video recorded inside the house showed a young man explaining Christian teachings and urging women to adopt the new faith, which went viral on social media. Vinod Kumar, a Bajrang Dal activist, who was present at the scene, protested and immediately informed the Singhawali Ahir police station and also filed a complaint. As the three attempted to leave the village, the police arrived, arrested them, and took them to the station. Police subsequently registered an FIR against Rohit, Pooja, and Jyoti under sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2021. Police stated that the group had been pressuring the complainant to convert by offering inducements and was attempting to expand its network in the village. As of the date of writing this report, the investigation was ongoing, and police were verifying how far the network had spread and how many individuals had been approached.
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- 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. Another subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. 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. The other 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. This case has been added to the tracker because Hindu villagers were targeted and brainwashed for religious conversion by three Christian missionaries. Firstly, the Christian perpetrators used deception and manipulation to build contact with the Hindu villagers by befriending a local woman named Lalita. Through Lalita, they built relationships with other villagers, gradually promoting Christianity in the village. This aspect was the very first step in the process of predatory proselytisation; the deliberate grooming of Hindu villagers through deception and fabricated relationships. The Christian perpetrators did not approach the community openly; instead, they targeted a vulnerable Hindu woman, Lalita, befriended her on Facebook, and manipulated that relationship to gain access to other Hindu families. Here, relationships were used as a manipulative tactic to deceive people for religious conversion. Secondly, the perpetrators gave inflammatory speeches and denigrated Hinduism in order to brainwash people into converting to Christianity. This goes beyond religious debate or proselytisation; it constitutes an act of incitement and insult directed at the core beliefs of the Hindu community. Such remarks are designed to demean and undermine the faith of Hindus and intend to create an inferiority complex in the minds of the victims against their own faith. This fosters an environment of hostility and disrespect towards the Hindu community and Hindu deities. These acts of insulting Hinduism stem from Christian theology, which harbours disdain and hatred for polytheistic faiths, and which categorises Hindus as ‘polytheists’, thereby fostering hatred against them. Such actions make the religiously motivated nature of the crime even more evident. Thirdly, the perpetrators attempted to lure poor families for conversion by offering inducements, claiming to alleviate their financial hardships and illnesses, while offering one lakh rupees upon 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 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. 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 tactics are designed not as acts of charity but as tools to engineer religious change under the guise of social upliftment, particularly among vulnerable and underprivileged communities. Such acts are deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims, and thus, this case was added to the tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the date of an incident based on when the crime occurred or when the victim’s ordeal began. In this case, none of the media sources specify the exact date on which the accused began their conversion activities or first contacted Lalita. Since the arrests took place on 16 November 2025, this date has been selected as the incident date for documentation purposes.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
