Over 100 Hindus lured for conversion to Christianity through deceit and inducement; Hindu activists resisting the attempt threatened and abused

Case ID : b1c5c1d | Location : Jainpur, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 4 October, 2025

Case ID : b1c5c1d

Jainpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

4 October, 2025

Over 100 Hindus lured for conversion to Christianity through deceit and inducement; Hindu activists resisting the attempt threatened and abused

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Case Summary

In Jaunpur’s Baksha police station area, a major case of unlawful religious conversion has been uncovered, leading to the arrest of three individuals. The action followed a complaint by Satyam Mishra, a worker associated with the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), who reported that around 100 people were being misled and pressured to abandon their faith. According to the complaint, in Lakhaua village, Sunil Kumar, Shyamlal, and Rajkumar were conducting conversion activities at Sunil Kumar’s residence, targeting local Hindus through deceit and inducement. When Mishra and others opposed the ongoing conversion, the accused verbally abused and threatened to kill them, and also warned that they would be falsely implicated under the SC/ST Act if they continued to resist. Responding swiftly, the police registered Case No. 390/2025 against the three men — Sunil Kumar, Shyamlal, and Rajkumar — under sections 131, 352, and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. At the time of writing this report, all three accused were arrested, and further legal proceedings were underway. The timely intervention of the complainant helped expose a large-scale conversion attempt targeting vulnerable Hindus.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The first category selected is- Predatory Proselytisation, under which the 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 category selected is- Attack not resulting in death and within this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. This case represents a clear instance of predatory proselytisation combined with targeted intimidation of those defending their faith. The conversion drive uncovered in Jaunpur’s Baksha area was not a spontaneous act of religious expression but a well-organised attempt to exploit vulnerable Hindus through deceit, inducement, and coercion. By offering false promises and manipulating trust, the perpetrators sought to draw individuals away from their ancestral faith, undermining both their religious autonomy and communal identity. According to the complaint filed by Satyam Mishra, the operation involved gathering nearly a hundred Hindus in Lakhaua village, where they were being systematically persuaded to renounce their religion. The conversion was reportedly facilitated through monetary inducements and psychological manipulation — tactics that specifically prey on socio-economic vulnerability. Such inducements are not merely material incentives; they are instruments of religious control designed to destabilise faith, identity, and community cohesion among Hindus. When Satyam Mishra and other members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad confronted the perpetrators and attempted to stop the unlawful activity, they were abused, threatened with death, and warned of false criminal charges under the SC/ST Act. This escalation demonstrates that the proselytisation was not peaceful or voluntary but aggressive and coercive in nature. The threats served as a means to silence resistance and intimidate those standing up to protect their community’s religious integrity. The combination of deceitful conversion practices and violent intimidation shows the dual nature of this hate-driven crime: firstly, the targeted undermining of Hindu faith through inducement and manipulation, and secondly, the suppression of Hindu voices who resist such efforts. By threatening those who opposed the conversion, the perpetrators revealed a deeper hostility not just toward individual dissenters but toward the very idea of Hindu assertion and self-defence. The predatory aspect of this proselytisation lies in its deliberate exploitation of trust, poverty, and ignorance — turning faith into a commodity and using coercion to dismantle spiritual independence. Meanwhile, the attack on the complainant and his companions highlights the increasing risks faced by Hindus who challenge such radical operations. This incident, therefore, is not simply about illegal conversion but about an organised attempt to erode Hindu religious identity and intimidate those safeguarding it. It reflects both religious aggression through deceitful conversion efforts and communal hostility through threats and violence against defenders of the Hindu faith, making it a textbook example of a hate crime rooted in anti-Hindu animosity and predatory proselytisation.