Hindus lured to attend prayer meeting, enticed with inducements to convert to Christianity in Uttar Pradesh
Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India 
20 September, 2024
Case Summary
In the Indrapuri Colony of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Hindus were targeted for religious conversion by a group of 12 Christians. The victims were lured with inducements to facilitate conversion. According to media reports, the incident came to light when a conversion racket was uncovered. The Christian perpetrators, including a Taiwanese national, were detained on 21st September 2024 for questioning. The police became concerned after some residents of Indrapuri Colony reported that a foreign national and several other Christians were holding a prayer meeting in a house with the aim of converting Hindu locals to Christianity. Those attending were offered inducements, including food. Religious pamphlets related to conversion were also found at the scene. Following this, Hindu organisations such as the Bajrang Dal arrived at the location and stated that the accused were forcibly converting people to Christianity. Vijay Gurjar, coordinator of Dharma Jagran Samanvay, associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, stated that the Christian accused were conducting forceful religious conversions and demanded strict action against the accused. All the accused were taken to the police station for questioning, the Station House Officer said. At the time of writing this report, the Superintendent of Police, Arvind Kumar, said that, so far, no aggrieved person has filed a written complaint. The individuals detained remain under questioning.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected is- Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducements. 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 is a clear and undeniable instance of an anti-Hindu hate crime, as Hindus were deliberately targeted for religious conversion by the Christian accused under the deceptive guise of attending prayer meetings. While the term “prayer meeting” ordinarily signifies a sincere spiritual gathering for worship and reflection, in this case, it was cynically exploited as a trap to lure Hindu attendees. Rather than offering genuine spiritual engagement, the accused manipulated the event with the sole purpose of pressuring Hindus to convert to another religion. This intentional targeting and exploitation of a specific religious community highlights the deeply religiously motivated character of this hate crime. The use of incentives such as food to encourage conversion reveals that these actions were far from acts of kindness or charity; they represented calculated attempts to exploit Hindus precisely because of their faith. By offering inducements, the Christian perpetrators engaged in emotional coercion against vulnerable Hindus, many of whom may have been in desperate circumstances. Such predatory tactics, common in cases involving Christian missionary groups, target socially and economically marginalised Hindus to advance their religious agenda. This form of coercion strips victims of their free will and dignity, amounting to forced conversions. These actions are neither random nor isolated but reflect premeditated efforts to undermine and erase the Hindu faith by persuading Hindus to abandon their religion. Rooted in profound religious animosity, these acts clearly constitute crimes motivated by hatred against Hindus and their beliefs. Such sustained campaigns of targeted proselytisation emerge from an ingrained hostility toward the Hindu faith, grounded in Abrahamic doctrines that dehumanise non-adherents until they convert. This makes these offences explicitly religiously motivated hate crimes against Hindus. Consequently, this case is being officially recorded in the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Complaint not filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 10 to 100
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
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