Hindu woman and her family coerced into Christian conversion under pretext of medical treatment; forced to remove sindoor, Hindu deities insulted
Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India 
3 August, 2025
Case Summary
In Parshuram Nagar of Raipur, Chhattisgarh, a Hindu woman, along with other members of her family, was targeted and enticed for conversion under the guise of medical treatment by Christian missionaries. The missionaries also denigrated Hindu deities and demanded that the Hindu woman remove her sindoor. According to reports, the Hindu woman, who had been unwell for two months, met a pastor named Maya Ram. The pastor claimed that he would treat her and cure her illness, enticing her with free medical treatment. During this period, the woman was pressured to convert to Christianity. She was told that after converting, she would become financially stable. The accused also made derogatory remarks against Hindu deities to push her towards conversion. The accused, along with others, took away the victim’s bangles and demanded that she wipe off her sindoor, a Hindu religious symbol, saying, “From today onwards, you will no longer wear sindoor.” Upon learning of this, Bajrang Dal workers and local Hindu residents staged a large protest, demanding immediate action against those responsible. Police promptly arrived at the scene and detained six individuals, including Maya Ram and two women, in connection with the case. Tensions escalated in the area as scuffles broke out between the police and the public, with locals attempting to prevent the transport of the accused. A complaint was also filed stating that, along with the victim, other members of the family were pressured for conversion. Police continued to question those in custody, and the investigation remained ongoing.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category - Predatory proselytisation. Within it, the 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. The other sub-category relevant here 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 other sub-category relevant here is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, with the tertiary category being - 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 second primary category selected here is - Attack on Hindu religious representation, and within this, the sub-category 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 added to the tracker because a Hindu woman was targeted and enticed for conversion under the guise of medical treatment by Christian missionaries. The victim had been unwell for a few months, and sensing her vulnerability, Christian missionaries targeted her for conversion. The pastor, along with others, claimed that he would cure her illness and offered her free medical treatment. He also claimed that after converting, her family would become financially well off. Firstly, offering inducements or making false healing 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 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. Secondly, the perpetrators also denigrated Hinduism and made objectionable remarks against Hindu deities in order to push the victim towards conversion. 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 are intended 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 accused demanded that the victim remove her sindoor and told her she should never wear it again. This, combined with the denigration of Hinduism, showed that the process was not a matter of free theological exchange but a calculated effort to undermine Hindu beliefs and traditions. It was aimed at breaking her religious loyalty and severing her connection with the Hindu identity. In Hinduism, sindoor is a sacred symbol of a married woman’s commitment, prosperity, and the well-being of her husband. It represents her marital status, evokes blessings for a long and harmonious life, and holds deep spiritual and cultural significance. The demand to remove such sacred symbols constitutes a symbolic erasure of Hindu identity. This deliberate religious denigration as a tool to instigate conversion reflects not only religious intolerance but also targeted animosity towards the Hindu faith and practices. 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. This systematic attempt to erode the religious foundation of individuals and replace it with allegiance to another faith reflects deep religious malice and animus against the Hindu identity. Because the core motivation of the act stems from hostility toward the victim’s religion, it meets the threshold of a hate crime. Hence, it has been categorised as a hate crime in the database. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case have specified the exact date when the victim's ordeal began, though it is mentioned that she came into contact with the pastor about 2 months ago. Thus, to document this case, we have used an indicative date—August 4, 2025—as a placeholder to represent the beginning of her suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged on October 4, 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported. Disclaimer: Here, it is mentioned that a Hindu woman, along with her family members, was coerced into converting to Christianity. However, the exact number of individuals in her family 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 5 individuals, including the primary victim.
Victim Details
Total Victim
5
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 4
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 5
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 4
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
