Hindu residents targeted in organised religious conversion activity in Jaunpur, UP
Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
25 January, 2026
Case Summary
Hindu individuals were converted on a large scale by five Christian evangelists, one woman and four men. In Jaunpur’s Kuddupur area, an unknown person tipped off the Line Bazaar police station about suspicious activities taking place near Rajendra Chauhan’s boundary, indicating that illegal religious conversions of Hindus were underway. Following the tip-off, the police reached the spot and arrested five people on charges related to the religious conversion of Hindus. The action was taken near Rajendra Chauhan’s boundary in the Kuddupur Srinagar area. A police team raided the premises and detained all the accused. The arrested individuals were identified as Munna Chauhan, Vidyut Pramanik, Arun Kumar, Amit Kumar, and Sushila Das, the wife of Vidyut Pramanik. During the investigation, the police recovered two Bibles, 86 pamphlets, and six holy crosses from the accused. Preliminary findings showed that the accused were involved in attempting to illegally convert people. A case was registered against all the accused under relevant sections of the law, and further legal action was initiated. The investigation remained ongoing, with authorities also examining whether other individuals were involved in the activity.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case had been added to the tracker under the primary category of: Predatory proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category selected is: Conversion/ attempt 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 other sub-category selected here is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation, or subtle indoctrination. Under this, the selected tertiary category 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 the 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 proselytisation, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. This case has been added to the tracker because vulnerable Hindus were induced and pressured into religious conversion by the Christian men and women. Pressuring a Hindu individual to discard his religious faith and embrace another was a direct attack on his religious identity and dignity. It was not a matter of personal choice; it was coercion rooted in hostility towards the victim's Hindu identity. Such an attempt reflected religious animosity because the act was not simply about personal differences but about erasing the victim’s Hindu faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. Similarly, other family members were also pressured for religious conversion by the accused. The Christian faith, by its theological foundations, places a strong emphasis on proselytisation. In pursuit of conversion objectives, Christian evangelists often employ unethical means, ranging from psychological pressure by glorifying Jesus Christ and by offering monetary inducements coupled with false promises of jobs and better marriages. This is not a one-time offence. Such cases have been reported in Jaunpur continuously. Many offenders have been arrested by police attempting to lure and convert the poor Hindus into Christianity, either by hook or by crook. Those who refuse to convert are threatened with false cases and suffering economic loss relating to their crops. Therefore, these cases are recorded as hate crimes under the tracker. Such actions stem from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith, since Abrahamic faiths hold beliefs that devalue non-adherents until conversion occurs. This systematic attempt to erode the religious foundation of individuals and replace it with allegiance to another faith reflected deep religious malice and animus against Hindu identity. Because the core motivation of the act stemmed from hostility towards the victim’s religion, it met the threshold of a hate crime and was therefore categorised as such in the database. Disclaimer: The team at Hinduphobia confirmed the details regarding the religion of the victims in this case with the Jaunpur police before recording and publishing the response.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
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