Hindu man in Kaushambi lured with promises of miracle cures and life solutions in targeted Christian conversion bid
Kaushambi District, Uttar Pradesh, India 
30 March, 2024
Case Summary
In Kesariya village of Kaushambi district, a group of Christians were luring Hindus in the village to convert to Christianity to get cured from all their diseases. They also promised all Hindus that they would get rid of all their life problems if they converted to Christianity. According to media reports, a healing meeting was organised in Kesariya village under the Saini police station of Kaushambi district. Nandlal Saroj, a Hindu man of Kaushambi district, was ill for a few days. He had gone to a doctor in West Sharira market for treatment. There, he met a person named Satyapal. After a few days, both of them became good friends. During this time, Satyapal told Nand Lal Saroj that if he converted to Christianity, then all his life problems would be solved and he would get cured from all his illnesses. Nand Lal was very upset, so he came under the influence of Satyapal and reached there last Sunday to attend the healing meeting. There, people were worshiping Jesus in the healing meeting and were being lured that they would be cured of all their illnesses. People were being deceived and converted to Christianity. Nand Lal reported this incidence to the police and a complaint was filed. The police reached the spot and arrested members of the Christian missionary group namely Rahul Kumar, Luv Prasad Maurya, Suraj Kushwaha, Rajesh Kumar, Raja Sonkar, Hari Prasad and Satish Kumar Maurya. All the accused were sent to jail.
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 incident is a clear example of inducement because the Christian missionary group exploited the health and emotional vulnerability of a Hindu man, Nand Lal Saroj, to lure him into converting. The perpetrators promised miraculous cures for all illnesses and solutions to life’s problems if he embraced Christianity. This was not an offer of genuine medical help, but a calculated exploitation of his condition to entice him away from his Hindu faith. Such inducements are rooted in the victim’s religious identity, as the end goal was to strip him of his Hindu beliefs and replace them with another faith. By taking advantage of the desperation of someone who was unwell, the perpetrators engaged in an act of predatory proselytisation, where the inducement was tailored to target Hindus specifically, making it a religiously motivated hate crime. In this case, over time, Satyapal subtly manipulated the situation, convincing Nand Lal that only conversion to Christianity could cure his illnesses and solve his life problems. This gradual persuasion is a form of indoctrination, as it sought to instil disaffection towards Nand Lal’s Hindu faith while presenting Christianity as the sole path to relief. The use of a friendly bond as a tool to introduce religious propaganda demonstrates how grooming exploits emotional trust to break down resistance. This process, though non-violent, is no less predatory and malicious, as it undermines the victim’s religious identity from within, making it a targeted hate crime against Hindus. Disclaimer: While there may be multiple Hindu victims in this incident, the report specifically names only one Hindu victim. Therefore, the victim count has been recorded as 1.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
