Minor Hindu students pressured to convert, molested under the guise of punishment by Christian principal of St. Francis School in Rampur
Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
15 February, 2026
Case Summary
In Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, minor Hindu students at St. Francis School in Khuntakheda village were targeted by the Christian principal, Arisheril Joseph, who was arrested following allegations of forced religious conversion, abuse, and coercion under the guise of punishment. The incident came to light on February 16, 2026, when parents and community members stated that the harassment occurred alongside efforts to impose religious influence on Hindu children within the school environment. Several minor students reported that the principal would summon them to his office under the pretext of discipline and subject them to inappropriate conduct and intimidation. Students stated that they were isolated, threatened, and punished if they resisted or attempted to speak out. Parents stated that this created an atmosphere of fear and coercion, causing severe distress among Hindu students, with some reportedly stopping attendance due to fear. Parents further stated that Hindu children were subjected to religious pressure and that teachings of a particular faith were being imposed within the school. Families stated that the accused used his position of authority to intimidate children and suppress complaints, creating conditions that enabled continued coercion and harassment. The matter came to light after affected students informed their families. When parents approached the school to raise concerns, tensions escalated, and police were called to the scene. Based on complaints filed by parents, police registered a case and arrested the accused principal under relevant legal provisions. Authorities also collected evidence from the school premises as part of the ongoing investigation. Police officials confirmed that the arrest was made following allegations of abuse, intimidation, and coercive conduct toward minor Hindu students. At the time of reporting, the investigation remained ongoing as authorities examined the full extent of the allegations, including claims of religious pressure and attempted conversion within the school.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This incident has been added to the tracker under the category- Predatory Proselytisation. Under this, the subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Within this, the relevant tertiary categories selected are- Rape and sexual assault/harassment, Pattern of targeting Hindus and Conversion of minor. 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 contains multiple clear religious targeting indicators that establish predatory proselytisation as a central element of the abuse. The victims were minor Hindu students studying in a missionary-run institution, where they were subjected to sustained religious pressure and coercive influence by a figure in a position of authority. The use of institutional power over minors created conditions where religious indoctrination and conversion attempts could be carried out through fear, isolation, and psychological manipulation, leaving the victims with little ability to resist. The use of abuse, intimidation, and harassment against minor Hindu students functioned as a coercive mechanism to break their psychological resistance and make them more vulnerable to religious influence. When minors are targeted within a controlled environment such as a school, where attendance is mandatory, and authority structures are rigid, such actions go beyond individual misconduct and reflect a systematic misuse of authority to exert religious pressure. The vulnerability of the victims due to their age further underscores the predatory nature of the targeting. The fact that multiple Hindu students were subjected to similar coercion and abuse demonstrates that the actions were not isolated to a single individual but reflected a broader pattern affecting Hindu children within the same institutional setting. This pattern-based targeting of Hindu minors, combined with conversion pressure and coercive abuse, establishes clear religious markers showing that the victims’ Hindu identity was central to their selection and treatment. The combination of grooming, coercion, abuse, and conversion-related pressure directed specifically at minor Hindu students constitutes predatory proselytisation through manipulation and psychological dominance. These elements demonstrate deliberate exploitation of religious identity and vulnerability, warranting documentation of this incident in the hate crime tracker under predatory proselytisation involving grooming, abuse, and conversion targeting of Hindu minors.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
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