Hindu family pressured to convert to Christianity, pictures of Hindu deities removed from the victim's home
Ajmer, Rajasthan, India 
23 May, 2025
Case Summary
A Hindu man and his family in Ajmer, Rajasthan, were brainwashed and pressured into converting to Christianity by a Christian pastor. The pastor also removed images of Hindu gods and goddesses from the victims’ home and converted one of the family members to Christianity. He also tried to brainwash the victim's family against Hinduism. According to news reports, the Hindu man initially approached the pastor for help to overcome his alcoholism, as the pastor was known for assisting people in quitting alcohol. The pastor gave him some medicine and instructed him to pray to Jesus Christ. The man, under the influence of the pastor, began attending the Bible Centre every Sunday. Over time, the pastor made contact with his wife as well. In the man’s absence, the pastor went to his home and removed pictures of Hindu deities from the house and stopped their worship. He also removed incense sticks from their home. The pastor turned the man’s wife and sister-in-law against the Hindu faith. He brainwashed the sister-in-law and converted her to Christianity, and then put pressure on his wife and children to convert to Christianity. The victim stated that the pastor had previously converted many people to Christianity under the pretext of helping them overcome alcoholism and removing black magic. The pastor had also lured people with money to encourage their conversion. Every Sunday, many people attended Christian prayers at the centre, where the pastor manipulated and lured them into converting to Christianity. The man approached the police and filed a complaint against the pastor. The police began an investigation and assured that appropriate action would be taken.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of Predatory Proseylitisation. 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 second 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. The third subcategory selected is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary category selected is - Pattern of targeting Hindus and Conversion of minor. 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. There is another primary category in this case, that is - Attack on Hindu religious representations. The subcategory selected is - Desecration of Hindu religious symbol. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. This case has been included in the hate crime database as it has multiple indicators of a religiously motivated crime. Firstly, the pastor exploited the man’s vulnerability by approaching him under the pretext of helping him overcome alcoholism. Instead of providing genuine support, the pastor used the situation to instruct him to pray to Jesus, leading the man to begin attending Bible centres on Sundays. This was done to manipulate him into abandoning his faith and converting to Christianity. Targeting individuals in distress for conversion leverages, weakens and violates the victim's right to freely practise their religion. It is evident that the pastor, under the guise of helping the individual, sought to manipulate him with the underlying motive of religious conversion, rooted in deep-seated animosity towards the victim's faith. Secondly, the pastor did not stop at the individual but extended his influence to the man’s wife, children, and sister-in-law, actively turning them against Hinduism. The sister-in-law was converted through psychological manipulation, and ongoing pressure was exerted on the wife and children to convert. This systematic targeting and coercion of family members to abandon their faith amounts to an orchestrated campaign against their religious beliefs. The manipulation of the wife and sister-in-law demonstrates the deep-seated hatred the pastor, an adherent of an Abrahamic faith, harboured towards Hindus and their religion. Furthermore, the pastor targeted children, pressuring them to adopt Christianity. Minors lack the maturity to provide genuine consent, and any meaningful change of conscience was absent from the outset. Due to their young age and vulnerability, children are particularly susceptible to manipulation and coercion. They may not fully comprehend the implications of converting to another religion, and the Christian pastor deliberately exploited this vulnerability. This case exemplifies the use of coercion and manipulation to achieve religious conversion and is a blatant act of religious hatred against Hindus. The pastor also removed photos of Hindu deities from the victims’ home. The removal of images of Hindu gods and goddesses is not merely an act of conversion but a direct attack on their religious identity and practices. Hindu deities are highly revered, and any act of desecration or disrespect towards Hindu symbols is deeply offensive to Hindus. This behaviour demonstrates the perpetrator’s religious animosity and hatred towards Hindu deities and Hinduism. Such actions are intended to erase the presence of Hinduism from their lives, constituting religious desecration and a clear manifestation of religious hatred. This further facilitates the perpetrator’s efforts to convert the Hindu victims. This is a glaring instance of religious hatred towards Hindus and their faith. The family’s Hindu faith was specifically targeted for erasure, and their beliefs were actively denigrated. The pastor’s actions of removing religious symbols, brainwashing family members, and pressuring others to convert constitute a pattern of religiously motivated hostility and animosity towards Hindus and their faith. The pastor also has a repeated pattern of brainwashing, luring vulnerable Hindus with money, and converting them to Christianity. He also did this under the guise of helping them overcome alcoholism and black magic. This highlights a clear and ongoing pattern of religious hostility, manipulation, and intolerance that the perpetrator holds towards Hindus and their religious identity. He manipulated gullible and economically vulnerable Hindus into abandoning their Hindu faith and converting to Christianity. This instance very evidently highlights the religious animosity that the Christian pastor harboured towards Hindus and Hinduism. Since the motivation behind this crime is religious in nature, it is being added to the hate crime database.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
