Hindus converted to Islam through inducement, major conversion racket busted in Satna, MP
Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India 
30 December, 2025
Case Summary
Hindu residents of Jhakhaura village, in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, were subjected to pressure and inducements to convert to Islam through material incentives and coercive tactics. This prompted one affected villager to file a formal complaint with the police. The complaint said that vulnerable villagers were being targeted under the cover of religious activities, leading to police action and the registration of a case under the Religious Freedom Act. As per reports, three Muslim converts, Lalman Chaudhary alias Abdul Rahman (68), Vijay Bharti alias Mohammad Umar (32), and Dinanath Chaudhary alias Abdullah (42) were arrested for pressuring people to convert to Islam by offering inducements. The entire incident came to light when the accused began constructing a mosque-like dome on the roof of his house in Jhakhaura village, located under the Dharkundi police station area. The villagers grew suspicious and made a complaint to the station house officer. Complainant Pankaj Pathak (26), son of Rambahori Pathak, filed a written complaint against the accused at the Dharkundi police station. Based on the complaint, a case was registered in Dharkundi under the Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Act. Investigation revealed that Lalman Chaudhary had converted to Islam about 15 years ago, after which he also got Vijay Bharti alias Mohammad Umar (32), and his cousin, Dinanath Chaudhary alias Abdullah (42). The three then organised religious activities in the area. Incriminating literature was also recovered from the accused. Police investigations further revealed that people were being lured or pressured into converting to Islam through the mosque under construction. The police arrested the accused and registered a case against them under sections 3 and 5 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act. All three accused were produced in court and sent to jail. Furthermore, police also found evidence of significant amounts of money being received from outside for the mosque's construction. Upon investigation of the bank accounts, it was revealed that approximately 9 lakh rupees had been deposited into the accused's account from other states over the past year. During interrogation, Lalman revealed that he had met a man from Mumbai during religious trips, who had visited Jhakhaura village several times. According to the accused, the same person would send money from time to time through online apps, and communication between the two took place only through WhatsApp calls. At the time of documenting this incident, the police had seized detailed bank account records. With the help of the cyber cell, the source of the WhatsApp calls and the funding network were being investigated. Police said the involvement of other individuals in this racket could not be ruled out.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected is Predatory Proselytisation. The first 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. The second sub- category selected is Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Further, a tertiary category selected under it 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 qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime because Hindu families were deliberately targeted on the basis of their Hindu religious identity, with the explicit aim of severing them from their ancestral faith. The activities were not random or voluntary expressions of belief change, but structured and sustained efforts by converted Muslims to interfere with Hindu religious life in Satna. It is important to note here that the accused had converted to Islam approximately fifteen years ago through a personal decision. That act, in itself, does not constitute a hate crime, as an individual’s voluntary change of faith is a matter of personal belief and does not involve harm or targeting of others. However, what they did, actively persuading and pressuring Hindu villagers to abandon their religion through inducements, financial influence, and coercive tactics, constitutes organised proselytisation as it was directed specifically at Hindus because of their religious identity and involved attempts to weaken or replace that identity through manipulation rather than free choice. By singling out Hindu villagers and using pressure and inducements to compel conversion, the accused’s actions crossed from private belief into discriminatory interference with religious freedom, thereby meeting the threshold of a religiously motivated hate crime. Pressuring a Hindu individual to abandon his religious faith and adopt another religion constituted a direct attack on his religious identity and personal dignity. This was not an act of free or informed choice. It was coercion rooted in hostility towards the victim’s Hindu identity. The intent behind the act was not coexistence or dialogue, but the deliberate erasure of a Hindu’s faith. Such conduct reflected clear religious animosity, making the act a religiously motivated crime. The pressure extended beyond individuals, as other members of Hindu families were also targeted and subjected to similar pressure for conversion. The accused deliberately targeted poor Hindus and exploited their vulnerable economic condition. Their poverty was used as a tool to weaken resistance and compel them to abandon their religion. Targeting individuals on the basis of both their religious identity and economic hardship demonstrated a calculated and discriminatory approach directed specifically at Hindus. The offering of monetary inducements to Hindus in exchange for religious conversion amounted to organised proselytisation through manipulation and psychological pressure. The repeated use of money created dependency and distorted judgment, gradually conditioning victims to associate material relief with religious change. This process functioned as brainwashing, where financial incentives were used to reshape belief systems rather than allow genuine, voluntary faith. Such inducement-based proselytisation stripped victims of real consent and turned conversion into an act of coercion and religious domination. Taken together, these actions showed systematic religious targeting of Hindus, fully meeting the criteria of a hate crime based on religion. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case has specified the exact date when the victim's ordeal began. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media, 31 December 2025.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
