Hindus targeted for religious conversion by Muslim preacher through fear and inducement
Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
23 June, 2025
Case Summary
In Madhupur Village, Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, a Muslim preacher known as "Chagur Baba" was converting Hindus, including Dalits, using fake miracles, fear and inducements. A team from the Vishwa Hindu Raksha Parishad (VHRP) visited Madhupur and inspected the residence of Chhagur Baba, accompanied by local police, including SHO Awadhesh Raj. Gopal Rai, the international president of the Parishad, said that the Muslim man was using fake miracles, fear, and inducements to convert thousands of people. The victims of these conversions were predominantly the poor, Dalits, tribal communities, and women, who were enticed through superstition, ritual practices, and monetary lures. Rai further asserted that “this man is no ascetic but a fraudulent preacher posing as a spiritual figure,” and said that he is conspiring to turn Utraula into another Kashmir or Kerala through organised religious conversions. He also said that the activities were motivated by the mindset of “Ghazwa-e-Hind.” The VHRP also reported links between Chagur Baba and terrorist funding networks. According to Gopal Rai, they possess documentary evidence linking Baba’s network to anti-national activities. He named two associates—Mohammad Ahmad Khan and Abdul Khan Raja—as Baba’s primary operatives. Rai questioned the rapid accumulation of wealth and properties by the Muslim preacher. The Parishad demanded a full investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Issuing a strict 72-hour deadline, the Parishad warned the district administration that failure to act against Chagur Baba would result in mass protests, road blockades, and shutdowns (talabandi) across Balrampur and the wider state. They have also called for the demolition of illegal properties acquired by the accused.
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 - 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 other sub-category relevant is- Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The other sub-category relevant is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, and the tertiary category selected 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 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 case is recorded as a religiously motivated hate crime because the Muslim preacher, Chagur Baba, targeted economically vulnerable sections of the Hindu population—primarily the poor, Dalits, tribal communities, and women—offering monetary incentives, false miracles, and promises of relief from suffering as a means to induce religious conversion. This constitutes predatory inducement, where the religious identity of the victim is specifically exploited to disenfranchise them from their native faith. The exploitation of poverty and marginalisation to convert an individual—especially by offering financial gain, emotional manipulation, or hope of miraculous intervention—violates not only the individual’s freedom of religion but also their dignity and agency. Since the conversion hinges on targeting the individual's Hindu identity, such cases fall squarely under religiously motivated hate crimes. The use of fear—whether psychological, social, or spiritual—plays a significant role in this incident. The Muslim perpetrator used fear-mongering tactics to psychologically intimidate Hindu individuals into abandoning their faith. Such behaviour constitutes harassment and coercion, particularly when directed at a specific religious identity. This violates the right to freely practise one’s religion and imposes mental distress rooted in the individual’s Hindu identity. This case also reveals a pattern of subtle indoctrination and manipulation where Hindu victims were brainwashed over time through repeated exposure to deceptive rituals and fabricated spiritual claims. Such methods are often nuanced and not always forceful or overt. Instead, they involve grooming vulnerable individuals into disaffection with their own religion and gradually aligning them with the perpetrator’s faith. The use of repetitive, trust-based relationships—where the victim might view the preacher as a spiritual guide—amplifies the effect. These tactics are intentionally designed to weaken the victim’s ties to Hinduism and establish a psychological or emotional dependency on the perpetrator’s religious worldview. The specific targeting of Hindus with this aim, particularly those who are socio-economically or educationally disadvantaged, points to a clear pattern of religious malice. Hence, this case reflects a systematic and multi-layered form of religiously motivated targeting, where inducement, coercion, and psychological manipulation were employed with the intent to convert Hindus by exploiting their socio-economic vulnerabilities and religious sentiments. Hence, this case is added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the conversion activity began. Therefore, for documentation purposes, the date has been recorded based on when the incident was reported in the media.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
