Hindu villagers lured to convert to Christianity under guise of prayer meetings in Garhwa, Jharkhand
Garhwa, Jharkhand, India 
17 February, 2026
Case Summary
In Garhwa, Jharkhand, innocent Hindu villagers were targeted for forced Christian conversion under the guise of an illegal prayer meeting at a private residence on 18 February 2026. The incident came to light when a large number of people had gathered at the residence of Ajay Yadav, a resident of Kailan, in a residential complex in the township. The local villagers stated that attempts had been made to convert innocent villagers and sick people to Christianity under the guise of prayer meetings. ASI Ashutosh Sinha of Bhawanathpur police station had arrived with his team on receiving the information. During the investigation, police had found religious books there, although key participants involved in the event had already left the scene. Upon questioning, the homeowner, Ajay Yadav, and his wife claimed that they had previously been seriously ill and had recovered through Christian prayers. This had been the reason the meeting was organised. According to reports, Ajay Yadav had obtained written permission from Kailan Panchayat head Sukni Devi to hold a prayer meeting at his home on 17 and 18 February 2026. However, the permission had been for Kailan Panchayat, and the event had been held in the Cell Township area of Sinduria Panchayat. Sinduria Panchayat head Nand Lal Pathak had arrived at the scene with his supporters and had protested the meeting. Meanwhile, women from Karmahi and Buka villages present at the scene had opposed the police action.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. Within it, the sub-category 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 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. The other 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. This case qualified as a clear instance of an anti-Hindu hate crime because Hindu men and women had been deliberately targeted for religious conversion by the Christian accused under the false pretext of attending prayer meetings. The term prayer meeting generally implied a spiritual gathering meant for sincere worship and reflection. However, in this situation, the prayer meeting had been exploited as a deceptive tool to lure the innocent and vulnerable Hindus in. Instead of genuine spiritual engagement, the accused had manipulated the event to brainwash and indoctrinate these Hindu attendees with Christian theology, aiming to convert them against their will. This deliberate exploitation and targeting of a specific religious group, in this case Hindus, underlined the religiously motivated nature of this hate crime. The conversion efforts had specifically targeted vulnerable Hindu families, with an agenda of curing illnesses, but the real agenda had been to convert under the name of healing. In contexts of poverty and illness, such inducements and manipulation do not represent free choice. They operate as pressure mechanisms that force individuals to weigh religious loyalty against basic survival needs. Such actions seek to erode Hindu religious identity and undermine community cohesion, demonstrating a religiously motivated act directed against Hindus. These are not genuine community prayers but calculated efforts to exploit the trust of Hindus and manipulate them into abandoning their faith. It is a well-recognised tool in organised Christian proselytisation networks. These gatherings usually employ reading religious texts, testimonies and emotionally charged prayer sessions to influence and induce vulnerable individuals without openly declaring the underlying religious objective. By conducting such gatherings, the Christian evangelists had sought to manipulate vulnerable Hindus, taking advantage of their emotional and social circumstances to push them towards conversion. 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 prayer meetings and misinformation to inducements such as money, jobs or healing illnesses. Such tactics to enforce Christianity on Hindus highlight the religiously motivated nature of the crime. Therefore, this case is being added to the hate crime database of the tracker. Disclaimer: Media reports stated that the key accused was not at the scene, but only the two residents at whose house the prayer meetings were held. Therefore, the perpetrator count was recorded as two (2). This is a conservative estimate, as the total number of perpetrators could be higher.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
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