Hindu villagers lured for conversion by Christian missionaries under guise of new year party; offered inducements and manipulated with religious texts
Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh, India 
31 December, 2025
Case Summary
In the Khamni village of Burhanpur district, Madhya Pradesh, tribal Hindu villagers were lured and offered inducements for religious conversion by Christian missionaries under the guise of New Year celebrations on 1 January 2026. According to reports, tribals Hindu villagers from the Khamni village and surrounding tribal areas were invited to a New Year dinner and goat party hosted at the residence of a man named Hirmal Barela, where food was served under the pretext of a social gathering. During the event, Christian prayers were conducted in the form of hymns and bhajans, and Hindu villagers were encouraged to abandon Hinduism and adopt Christianity, with assurances that conversion would lead to heaven and bring material and financial benefits to their families. Religious books and photographs related to Christianity were circulated, and inducements were offered to economically vulnerable tribal villagers, including Kailash Barela, who later approached the police and filed a complaint. The conversion operation involved local tribal converts from Khamni, Jambupani and adjoining villages, including Jeevan Barela, Rama Barela, Degi Barela, Yuvraj, Gokul and Mahendra Barela, reflecting a pattern in which previously converted individuals were used to influence members of their own community. When members of Bajrang Dal and other Hindu organisations received information about prayers being conducted during the gathering, they informed the police, following which protests erupted at the site. Police arrived at the village, intervened to control the situation, and initiated legal action. Based on complaints from villagers, Shahpur police registered a case under Sections 3 and 5 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021, against six persons for inducing religious conversion through deception and inducement. Superintendent of Police Devendra Patidar confirmed the registration of the case and stated that investigations were underway. Subsequently, police arrested several of the accused, including Jeevan, Rama Barela, Degi, Mohan, Yuvraj, and Gokul, while efforts continued to trace others involved.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. 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. The other 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. This case has been added to the tracker because tribal Hindu villagers were deliberately lured and induced to abandon their faith and convert to Christianity through deceptive means under the guise of New Year celebrations. The conversion activity was carried out by Christian converts operating as part of a coordinated network, who specifically targeted Hindu tribal villagers by inviting them to what was presented as a New Year dinner and goat party. The nature of the conversion efforts, the choice of victims, and the methods employed clearly demonstrated a targeted action against Hindus as a collective. When organised efforts are directed exclusively at members of a particular religion, in this case, Hindu tribals, it reflects a fundamental disregard for the Hindu faith and its adherents. Conversion in this context was not based on free spiritual choice but on manipulation, inducement, and pressure, making it an attempt to erode the religious identity, traditions, and cultural continuity of the Hindu community. The deliberate targeting of Hindus for such conversion efforts established the religiously motivated character of the offence. The act of targeting Hindu tribals for conversion under the false pretext of a New Year celebration revealed the predatory nature of the operation. Social gatherings such as community feasts and festive celebrations are ordinarily associated with fellowship and goodwill. In this instance, however, the event was exploited as a deceptive mechanism to draw Hindu villagers into a controlled environment where Christian prayers were conducted in the form of hymns and bhajans. Instead of a genuine social occasion, the gathering was used to influence, indoctrinate, and psychologically pressure Hindu attendees to renounce their faith. This misuse of a festive setting to target a specific religious group underscored the calculated and religiously motivated nature of the crime. The use of promises of heaven, financial assistance, and material benefits further demonstrated that the conversion attempts were not acts of charity or goodwill. Instead, they were calculated attempts to exploit Hindus specifically because of their religion. By providing inducements to Hindus to change their faith, the Christian perpetrator was effectively emotionally blackmailing those Hindus who might have been desperate for assistance. Such instances are seen in many cases where members of Christian missionary groups target socially and economically vulnerable Hindus to further their agenda of religious conversions. This form of coercion strips Hindus of their agency and dignity and enforces forced conversions. These are not random or isolated incidents but rather are premeditated efforts to undermine the Hindu faith, persuade Hindus to discard their own faith, and convert to Christianity. Such acts are deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims and their faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. The perpetrators also attempted to indoctrinate Hindu victims through the use of Christian religious books and imagery, which were deliberately introduced during the gathering. Using the scriptures or literature of one faith to deliberately target and manipulate members of another, with the clear intention of religious conversion, represents a direct attack on the Hindu faith. Such actions are designed to violate and undermine the beliefs of Hindu victims and are clear indicators of religious hostility towards Hindus and their religious identity. Such actions further demonstrate that this was not an isolated incident of evangelism, but rather part of a broader, organised operation to further religious conversions. When Christian religious material is used to exploit trust, sow doubt, and misrepresent the beliefs of Hindus to coerce conversion, particularly in a systematic manner, it constitutes a religiously motivated offence. The Christian faith, by its very theological foundations, places a strong emphasis on proselytisation. In pursuit of conversion objectives, Christian evangelists often employ unethical means, ranging from psychological pressure and misinformation to inducements such as money or jobs. These instances of targeted proselytisation activities stem from inherent hostility towards the victims' professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to their faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert, making it a religiously motivated crime against Hindus. Therefore, this case is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
