Hindu community lured to attend Christmas event, enticed for religious conversion by Christian man in Bahraich
Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, India 
24 December, 2025
Case Summary
In the Mahsi tehsil area of Bahraich district, Uttar Pradesh, Hindus were lured and enticed for forced religious conversion by a Christian man named Santosh, under the guise of attending a Christmas event. According to reports, the accused, Santosh, son of Sanwali and a resident of Pandey Purwa, Dakhil Fatehpurwa village, organised a large religious gathering on Christmas without obtaining the required administrative permission. During the event, he attempted to lure members of the Hindu community to convert to Christianity by offering them inducements On the basis of the complaint received, Hardi police station in-charge Alok Kumar Singh confirmed that an FIR was lodged under Section 223 of the Indian Penal Code, 2023, along with Sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, against the accused. Police also confirmed that the gathering was illegal and constituted a violation of Section 163 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Following the registration of the case, the police initiated a search operation to apprehend the accused. It was also revealed that this was not the first instance of action against Santosh for religious conversion activities, as he had been previously taken into custody on similar charges.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is documented under the primary category: Predatory Proselytisation. The first subcategory 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 sub-category is: Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Under 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. This case has been added to the tracker because Hindus were lured and enticed for religious conversion by a Christian man named Santosh, under the guise of a Christmas event. Firstly, what was presented as a Christmas gathering was in reality a covert attempt at religious conversion. The event was not a genuine community celebration but a calculated effort to exploit the trust of Hindu attendees and persuade them to abandon their faith. The gathering was organised without administrative permission, highlighting a deliberate strategy to avoid public scrutiny while targeting Hindus for conversion. Such secrecy underscores the deceptive and manipulative nature of the activity, aimed at undermining the religious beliefs of the Hindu community. Secondly, the accused enticed and offered inducements to Hindu attendees in order to push them towards 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 their religion. By providing inducements and luring individuals during the Christmas event, Santosh targeted Hindu victims by manipulating their social or emotional circumstances to push them towards conversion. Such tactics strip people of their agency and dignity, resulting in coerced or induced conversions. These actions are not isolated incidents but reflect a wider pattern in which members of Christian missionary groups focus on socially and economically vulnerable Hindus to advance their religious conversion agenda. Thirdly, the accused was also previously arrested under similar charges of religious conversion. This demonstrates that the accused had a pattern of targeting Hindus for religious conversion. When a specific religious community is repeatedly targeted for conversion, it reflects a fundamental disregard for their faith and identity. In this case, Santosh specifically focused on Hindus, using inducements and a deceptive Christmas event to coerce them into abandoning their religion. These actions are not merely about offering an alternative belief system but are aimed at undermining the traditions, values, and faith of the Hindu community, making the incident 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. Such acts are deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindus and their faith. Therefore, this case is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
