Hindu women targeted at Christian prayer gathering in Ghaziabad; pastor lures them for conversion through inducements
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 
14 June, 2025
Case Summary
In Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, a Christian missionary was converting Hindus by converting Hindus to Christianity by offering them inducements. He was arrested by the police. ACP Priya Shripal stated that the individuals were conducting prayers within their home. A written complaint was submitted at the Crossing Republic police station by Prabal Gupta, naming a man named Vinod, said to be a pastor residing in Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, for a long time. The pastor is originally from Kerala. On Saturday evening, he visited the house of Premchand Jatav, a resident of Rahul Vihar under the jurisdiction of the Crossing Republic police station, and conducted prayers with members of the Scheduled Castes community. He was calling women and men to these gatherings and offering various inducements to encourage conversion to Christianity. These prayer meetings were reportedly held every Sunday for this purpose. Premchand Jatav had converted to Christianity several years ago, and prayers were being conducted at his home every Sunday by the pastor. Also, women, children, and others were being lured with various promises, and in some instances, ration was delivered to their homes. When the police raided the prayer meeting in Ghaziabad, they found 20 to 25 women gathered at the scene. The police arrested the accused pastor and the homeowner, Premchand.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Predatory proselytisation. Within it, 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 relevant here is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Within this, the tertiary categories selected are- Conversion of minor and 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. In this case, the pastor and his associate focused their efforts on Hindus who were poor and economically backwards by offering inducements to facilitate conversion to Christianity. Such acts exploit the economic and social vulnerabilities of individuals, using their fragile circumstances as a means to draw them away from their religious identity. The targeting of Hindus, specifically, and the holding of repeated Sunday meetings with the intent to encourage conversions through inducement, indicates a systematic approach rooted in religious motivation rather than individual choice or spiritual dialogue. This aligns with the broader definition of hate crimes in which the victim’s religious identity is central to the offence. Offering incentives to encourage conversion, particularly when directed at individuals who are vulnerable or in need, shows that these incentives are not acts of kindness or charity. Instead, they are calculated moves to exploit vulnerable Hindus because of their religion. By providing inducements to Hindus to change their faith, the accused were effectively blackmailing those 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 people of their agency and dignity and enforces forced conversions. These are not random or isolated incidents, but rather cases deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims. Furthermore, another particularly troubling aspect of this case is the use of “prayer gatherings” as a guise to lure individuals and facilitate conversions. When faith is eroded not by open debate or consent, but through sustained emotional manipulation and exploitation of socio-economic dependence, it moves beyond mere conversion and enters the realm of predatory religious targeting. The recurring pattern of targeting Hindus under such pretences is what classifies this case as a religiously motivated hate crime, driven by antagonism towards a Hindu religious identity. Further, details of this case also reveal that children were also amongst those targeted by the Christian evangelists, which essentially means that the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully mature, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, especially when they are employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. This makes it challenging for parents to identify and address instances of religious manipulation. Since the underlying offence in this case is against children of a specific faith and involves subtle tactics of indoctrination, which obviously stems from a bias against the Hindu faith, this case has been documented as a hate crime. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
