Hindu families targeted for conversion through prayer sessions for healing
Jashpur, Chhattisgarh, India 
21 April, 2025
Case Summary
A commotion broke out in Bhelwa Toli village after local residents discovered a man conducting a prayer session inside a house. The prayer session was intended to cure illness. Three families from the village had gathered in the home, where they were each handed a Bible and asked to participate in prayers. Villagers, upon learning about the event, entered the premises, stopped the activity, and detained the man conducting the session. They also confiscated his motorbike and a bag he had brought with him. Inside the bag, residents found a register containing names and several copies of the Bible. The Narayanpur police station was immediately informed, and officers reached the spot shortly after. The man who had been conducting the prayer meeting, along with those participating, was brought to the station for further questioning. Superintendent of Police Shashi Mohan Singh confirmed that the man had been taken in for enquiry. Documents and religious texts were found in his possession and are currently being reviewed by the police.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. The sub-category relevant in this case 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 sub-category relevant is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, and 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 from Bhelwa Toli village represents a clear instance of religiously motivated hate crime as the perpetrator was targeting vulnerable Hindu families and attempting to convert them through inducement, including the prayer for curing illness. In such cases, the perpetrators do not rely on overt force or threats but exploit economic and social vulnerabilities, making use of trust, familiarity, or need as tools for religious conversion. The fact that this activity was conducted in a private residence and concealed from the wider community suggests deliberate stealth and manipulation. The fact that a register with names was found in the bag of the man leading the prayer meeting shows that this was not just an isolated act. It suggests a clear pattern, where the accused was specifically targeting Hindus for religious conversion. The families involved were led through a prayer ritual using Christian texts, which goes beyond mere exposure to a different faith and enters the territory of attempting to detach the victims from their own Sanatan Dharma beliefs. When the religious identity of a group becomes the focus of sustained conversion attempts through inducement or manipulation, it constitutes a form of religious aggression. The core of the crime lies not in individual belief but in the targeting of Hindus as a group, seeking to extract them from their traditions and community through non-transparent and predatory means, driven by a disregard for their faith. By presenting promises of miraculous healing or material benefits, these orchestrated events manipulate the poor and vulnerable into abandoning their faith, effectively stripping them of their religious identity. This inducement-driven conversion stems from an intrinsic animosity toward the victims' original faith, using their vulnerabilities as leverage to achieve religious and ideological dominance. Since exploiting vulnerabilities for the explicit purpose of conversion is purely based on animosity towards the victim's faith, this case has been categorised as a religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer: In this case, it is mentioned that members of 3 families were converted to Christianity. However, the exact number of individuals involved in the conversion is not specified. Due to this lack of clarity, we have relied on the most recent Indian census data, which indicates that the average family size in India is approximately 4.8 members per household. To ensure a standardised estimation, we have opted to consider an average of 5 members per family. Based on this approach, the estimated total number of victims in this case is calculated as 15 individuals.
Victim Details
Total Victim
15
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 15
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 15
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 15
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
