Hindus targeted for conversion to Christianity through inducement and religious manipulation in school premises in Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 
29 September, 2024
Case Summary
In Ghaziabad, Hindus were being converted to Christianity through activities conducted at Ekta Public School. Hindu organisations alerted the police, leading to the detention of two Christian brothers, Pankaj and Sachin. Bajrang Dal workers had informed them about religious conversions taking place every Sunday at the school. During questioning, the detained brothers admitted that they worked as caretakers at the school and organised prayer meetings at their house every Sunday. A pastor named Raju from Delhi would attend these gatherings, preach from the Bible, and lure people into converting to Christianity by promising cures for illnesses. Police further confirmed that Sachin had converted to Christianity six months ago, and along with his brother Pankaj, had been attempting to convert more Hindus. Sachin regularly visited Hindu households to persuade entire families to convert. A case was registered against the two brothers for carrying out illegal religious conversions.
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 - 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. The other 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. This case constitutes a hate crime against Hindus because it involves systematic religious grooming and brainwashing aimed specifically at undermining the Hindu faith. The accused exploited their position of trust as caretakers in a school to repeatedly expose Hindu families to Christian doctrine under the guise of prayer meetings and miraculous cures. Such subtle indoctrination is not a neutral exchange of ideas but a deliberate, manipulative effort to detach Hindus from their own traditions and beliefs and impose allegiance to a contrasting faith. The element of deception and manipulation, particularly in linking conversion with false promises of healing, highlights the predatory nature of the act and the underlying animosity toward Hinduism. The targeted approach toward Hindus further demonstrates that the intent of the perpetrators was not simply religious propagation but hostility directed at a specific community. By focusing on Hindu households and attempting to convert entire families, the perpetrators created a pattern of targeting rooted in religious malice. The abuse of trust, repeated manipulation, and exploitation of vulnerabilities all show that the ultimate aim was to erode Hindu identity and replace it with a regimented allegiance to another faith. For these reasons, the act falls within predatory proselytisation and is considered a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus. This case involves the deliberate exploitation of Hindu individuals’ vulnerabilities through false promises and material allurements. The perpetrators attempted to lure Hindus into abandoning their faith by offering cures for diseases and other benefits linked to Christian prayer meetings, thus targeting them in moments of need and distress. Such inducements are not acts of genuine charity or voluntary persuasion but calculated methods to sever Hindus from their religious identity, using their economic or physical hardships as leverage. Since the victim’s Hindu identity and the intent to disenfranchise them from it lie at the very core of the act, the attempt to convert by inducement is recognised as predatory proselytisation and a religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the conversion activity began. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media.
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
