Hindus coerced for religious conversion, threatened with expulsion, and revered deities denigrated
Purnia, Bihar, India 
3 December, 2025
Case Summary
In Baisi, Purnia, Bihar, Hindu villagers were targeted for religious conversion by a man named Anil Rai. The accused pressured and harassed people to convert to another religion. He also denigrated Hindu deities to further his conversion agenda. The Hindu villagers were also subjected to expulsion threats for opposing conversion. According to media reports, the incident occurred in Ward 8 of Mala village, Harikol Panchayat, under the jurisdiction of Baisi Police Station. The matter came to light when Hindu villagers, namely Surendra Lal Harijan, Sunita Devi, Meena Devi, Mangali Devi, Rekha Devi, and others, filed a police complaint against Anil Rai. The villagers stated that Anil Rai, a resident of their village, promoted other religions there and used abusive language against Hindu deities. He also threatened to expel them from the village if they opposed him. He also forced and coerced several villagers to convert from Hinduism to another religion. A complaint was filed at the police station regarding this matter. The police arrested Anil Rai and remanded him to judicial custody. Following his release, he resumed promoting another religion in the village and again pressured villagers to convert. However, Anil Rai denied the accusations. He claimed that he was involved in a land dispute with his family members and did not promote any religion or convert anyone. He further claimed that he conducts satsangs (prayer meetings) near his home, which some people dislike. He also claimed that he had been falsely accused of carrying out forced conversions.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in this case is- Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected is- Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The other subcategory selected in this case 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. This incident constitutes a clear and unequivocal case of anti-Hindu hate crime. The accused systematically pressured and coerced Hindu villagers into abandoning their faith and converting to another religion, resorting to threats of expulsion from their ancestral village to enforce compliance. These actions transcend any notion of voluntary persuasion and amount to a grave violation of fundamental religious freedom and the inherent dignity of the Hindu community. When conversion occurs under duress—driven not by genuine conviction but by intimidation and fear—it constitutes an outright denial of religious autonomy. The accused’s readiness to threaten eviction and impose conversions reflects a deep-rooted animosity towards Hinduism and its adherents, revealing the act as a deliberate and hostile assault on the Hindu community, fully fitting the criteria of a hate crime motivated by religious hatred. Furthermore, the accused employed calculated denigration of Hindu deities as a weapon to further his coercive campaign. Hindu gods and goddesses are revered by adherents as sacred manifestations of the supreme principle, Brahman, central to their spiritual identity and daily worship of Hindus. The deliberate verbal abuse of these revered figures was not a casual insult but a strategic attempt to demoralise and humiliate the victims, undermining their faith as a means of forcing conversion to another faith. This sacrilegious behaviour reflects profound contempt for Hindu religious beliefs and traditions, exposing the crime’s religious motivation in stark relief. Such deliberate abuse directed at revered Hindu deities to facilitate forced religious conversion vividly manifests hatred specifically targeting Hinduism and firmly qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime. After being released from prison, the accused resumed forcing Hindu villagers to convert to another religion, demonstrating an unwavering and fanatical commitment to this coercive mission. The fact that he continued to pressure villagers even after experiencing legal consequences highlights a predatory determination to impose his religious beliefs on others through intimidation and force. This persistent behaviour clearly reveals deep religious animosity, as it involves targeting Hindu individuals’ faith with relentless coercion despite prior intervention by the justice system. Such conduct exemplifies a calculated and aggressive violation of religious freedom, leaving no doubt that it constitutes a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime driven by intolerance and hostility towards the Hindu community. Although the religious background of the perpetrator remains unclear, the nature and intent of his actions unmistakably demonstrate anti-Hindu hatred driven by religious animosity. This deliberate targeting of Hindus, forced conversion, intimidation, and sacrilege highlight the broader context of religiously motivated hostility faced by the community. Consequently, this case rightfully warrants inclusion in the hate crime database maintained by the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on the date when the crime actually occurs rather than when it is reported by the media. In this particular case, the media reports did not specify the exact date of the incident. Therefore, for the purpose of documentation and record-keeping, the date of 4th December 2025—the date when the media first reported the incident—is used as the indicative date for this case.
Case Status
Perpatrator released by Police
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
