Hindus lured with inducements and targeted for Christian conversion in Chhattisgarh

Case ID : cb2816b | Location : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India | Date of Incident : Tue, 2 December, 2025

Case ID : cb2816b

Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India

2 December, 2025

Hindus lured with inducements and targeted for Christian conversion in Chhattisgarh

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Case Summary

In Chilhati village, Pachpedi, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, Hindus were lured with inducements and targeted for forced conversion by three Christians, including a pastor. According to media reports, this took place on 3rd December 2025. The Christian accused had organised a prayer meeting in the village and had enticed Hindus to convert by offering food and various other incentives. Over 30 to 35 people had been invited, including both men and women. The prayer meeting was held at the home of one of the accused, Anita Nayak, a resident of Chilhati village’s Atal Chowk. Before the event could proceed, members of the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu organisation, arrived and began protesting. Narayan Patel of the Bajrang Dal heard about the meeting and, along with other members and villagers, came to protest. Upon receiving information that the situation was escalating, the in-charge of Pachpedi police station arrived with his team and brought the situation under control. The police arrested the three Christian perpetrators: Anita Nayak (32) of Chilhati, Ambad Devdas (52) of Balodabazar, and J. Prabhakar Rao (38) of Balodabazar. Following police interrogation, a case was registered against the three under sections 299 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and further action was taken. The local Hindu villagers stated that the Christian organisers Anita, Ambad, and Prabhakar arranged food for the Hindu attendees after the meeting. Villagers confirmed that economically disadvantaged Hindus were gathered through the offer of food and other incentives.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category selected in this case is- Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory 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. In this case, Hindus were deliberately lured with incentives to convert to Christianity by three Christian individuals. The nature of the conversion efforts and their broader impact on the Hindu community clearly indicate a targeted campaign against Hindus as a collective group. When individuals or organisations concentrate their conversion activities on members of a specific religion, here Hindus, it reveals a fundamental disrespect for the Hindu faith. Conversion, particularly when driven not by personal conviction but by external pressure or inducements, is not merely an exchange of beliefs. It constitutes an attempt to undermine the values, traditions, and identity of the Hindu community. The Christian perpetrators consciously targeted Hindus, demonstrating a blatant disregard for Hinduism and its followers. Such actions are intended to strip Hindu victims of their faith, categorising such incidents as a religiously motivated crimes. In the Bilaspur incident, the use of incentives, such as food, to encourage conversion to Christianity was a calculated strategy rather than an act of charity or goodwill. These actions exploited economically vulnerable Hindus specifically because of their religious identity. By offering inducements to convert, the Christian perpetrators effectively engaged in emotional coercion against Hindus who were in desperate need of assistance. Such tactics are common in cases where Christian missionary groups deliberately target socially and economically disadvantaged Hindus to advance their religious conversion agenda. This form of coercion robs Hindus of their religious autonomy and dignity, amounting to forced conversions. These incidents are neither random nor isolated but are premeditated efforts designed to weaken the Hindu faith, persuade Hindus to abandon their religion, and convert to Christianity. These actions are deeply rooted in religious hostility and constitute religiously motivated offences against Hindus. The targeted proselytisation seen here arises from inherent animosity towards the victims’ faith, consistent with doctrines in Abrahamic faiths that dehumanise non-adherents until they convert. Since this incident meets the parameters of a religiously motivated crime against Hindus, it is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: Media reports stated that around 35 Hindu villagers, including men and women, were targeted for conversion in this case, but no gender-wise breakdown was provided. For clarity in documentation, the Hinduphobia Tracker estimates the gender distribution among the 35 participants as 18 men (51%) and 17 women (49%), based on proportional demographic data from India’s Census 2011 and the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–21) for rural populations.