Hindus brainwashed and offered material inducements for forced Christian conversion in Uttar Pradesh
Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India 
19 November, 2025
Case Summary
In the Teacher Colony area of Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, members of the Hindu community were targeted for attempted religious conversion by two Christians. They were lured with inducements and misled through manipulation and brainwashing intended to turn them away from Hinduism. According to media coverage, the incident came to light after the police, acting on a tip-off, stopped a Christian religious gathering and prayer meeting being held at a house in the locality. At the scene, the accused individuals were found promoting forced conversion to Christianity. Police intervened promptly upon receiving information and halted the event. Local Hindu residents of the neighbourhood stated that Christian preaching had been taking place at this location for an extended period. Representatives of Hindu organisations stated that attempts were being made to convert innocent Hindu men and women by misleading them with false information about Hinduism, as well as offering material inducements. Upon learning of the incident, State Organisation Minister of the Hindu Security Service Association, Awadhesh Sharma, City President Sonu Tomar, along with Ankur Giri, Govind Verma, Sushil Tomar, Vivek Agarwal, Nishant Giri, Lavi Giri, Deepak, and Harsh, arrived at the site. Sonu Tomar and other activists called for firm legal action against the accused. Police Station In-Charge Pushpa Devi confirmed that a First Information Report (FIR) had been registered against both accused under Sections 3, 4, and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2021.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected is- Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducements. 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 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 incident in Bijnor is a clear case of a targeted, religiously motivated crime against the local Hindu community. The Christian perpetrators deliberately approached vulnerable Hindu residents, attempting to induce them to convert to Christianity through material benefits. These inducements were not acts of kindness or goodwill but calculated tools of coercion meant to exploit economic and social vulnerabilities. Offering material rewards aimed to weaken the victims’ trust in their own religion, forcing them into dependency. This practice is not charity but a manipulative method designed to strip victims of their Hindu faith and identity, replacing it with a belief system imposed through deceit and incentives. Such conduct flagrantly violates victims’ freedom of religion and dignity, reducing their faith to a commodity that can be bought or traded. These actions expose the grave undermining of victims’ faith by perpetrators and reflect deep-seated religious animosity towards Hinduism and the Hindu community, making this a religiously motivated offence. In addition to material inducements, the perpetrators employed psychological manipulation by spreading false information about Hinduism. Through misleading claims and deliberate misrepresentation, they aimed to confuse and isolate victims, eroding their confidence in their own beliefs. This dissemination of falsehoods was a conscious attempt to mislead a community, undermining their religious self-respect and cultural roots. Attempting to forcibly convert victims through lies and deception demonstrates the perpetrators’ deep-rooted religious animosity. Their actions reveal an intent not merely to convert but to humiliate and strip Hindu victims of their faith through mental conditioning and systematic brainwashing. This pattern clearly constitutes an anti-Hindu hate crime driven by prejudice and hostility towards the Hindu community. Local Hindu residents revealed that such attempts at conversion had been ongoing for an extended period. This demonstrates that the incident was not isolated but part of a larger, well-organised effort to systematically target Hindus for conversion. These repeated acts illustrate a deliberate strategy to alter the religious demographics of the locality by gradually eroding the Hindu population’s connection to their faith. The sustained targeting highlights the perpetrators’ deep-rooted animosity and their intent to change the cultural and religious fabric of the community. This pattern goes far beyond individual conversions; it is a long-term campaign of religious hostility designed to weaken Hindu faith and impose an alien Christian identity on vulnerable Hindus. These instances of targeted proselytisation stem from an inherent hostility toward the victims' professed faith. Abrahamic faiths hold views that anyone outside their religion is subject to dehumanisation until converted, making these acts religiously motivated crimes against Hindus. Therefore, this case is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the date of each incident based on when the victims’ ordeal begins rather than when it is reported by the media. In this case, although the local Hindu residents stated that conversion activities and targeting had been ongoing for a long period, the exact start date remains unspecified. The report mentions only that the most recent conversion event occurred on 20th November 2025. Therefore, for documentation purposes, this date is used as the indicative date of the incident in the database.
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
