Hindus induced and brainwashed to convert to Christianity under guise of exorcism and healing in Uttar Pradesh
Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India 
19 July, 2025
Case Summary
In Kachha village, within the Jethwara police station area of Pratapgarh, Hindus were being induced to convert to Christianity. They were manipulated under the guise of exorcism and ‘healing’ meetings. In this case, a total of eight Christian accused were arrested, including a woman. The other seven accused were named as Ramchandra Verma, Rajendra Verma, Ram Sanehi Saroj, Ashok Saroj, Surendra alias Kallu Saroj, Mukesh Kumar Saroj, and Sunil Saroj. According to media reports, the Christian perpetrators had conducted a meeting where the Hindus were gathered and were being subjected to brainwashing and manipulation. They were being induced to convert to Christianity under the pretext of exorcism and 'healing'. Reports confirmed that similar events had been conducted by this Christian group for the past six months. A local Hindu resident named Manish Dubey informed the police and filed a complaint regarding this incident. Following this complaint, the police acted promptly and raided the conversion meeting, arresting eight accused at the scene. During the raid, officers recovered Christian religious books, promotional materials, posters, and pictures of Jesus Christ, which were being used to influence people to adopt Christianity. Jethwara police brought all eight accused to the station for interrogation. Police officials confirmed that investigations were underway to determine whether a larger organised network was involved and if similar meetings were being held in other villages. The police reported that cases had been registered against the eight Christian perpetrators under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2021.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation, or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary category selected in this case 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. 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. The incident in Kachha village represents a clear case of religious grooming and psychological manipulation, where Hindus were systematically targeted through deceitful means masked as “healing” and “exorcism.” Such spiritual pretences were not incidental but deliberate tools used to implant doubts and fears about their own faith while gradually introducing Christian theological ideas as superior. This constitutes subtle indoctrination, whereby victims are coaxed to disown their native religion without overt threats but through repeated, emotionally manipulative tactics. The Christian perpetrators used gatherings, posters, and images of Jesus, which acted as psychological triggers to convince vulnerable Hindus that their well-being or healing depended on embracing Christianity. The promises of miraculous healing were not mere religious expressions, but strategic inducements aimed at economically or emotionally vulnerable Hindus. Many such victims, suffering either from poverty or illness, were led to believe that Christian conversion would provide them relief, thus making physical or spiritual vulnerabilities a tool for exploitation. In this case, the perpetrators used the false pretext of divine intervention to lure Hindus away from their faith, thereby substituting fear and hope for true, informed religious choice. The underlying power dynamic here is exploitative, as the perceived promise of relief and transformation was conditional on religious betrayal. This method squarely falls within the ambit of conversion by inducement. This is not an isolated event but part of a larger and sustained effort to target Hindus for religious conversion in the region. Reports confirmed that such "healing" events have been organised repeatedly over a six-month period, suggesting organised and premeditated targeting of Hindus, not general missionary outreach. The selection of only Hindu participants and the exclusive focus on converting them exposes a pattern of communal targeting driven by religious hostility. This constitutes a systematic hate campaign against a specific religious group, and therefore, this case is included in the hate crime database.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
