Hindus including children, lured with incentives and coerced to convert to Christianity; accused denigrated Hindu gods and stabbed Hindu man for opposing conversion
Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India 
9 August, 2025
Case Summary
In Raipur, Chhattisgarh, Hindus, including minor children, were lured into converting to Christianity through financial inducements. The accused manipulated and coerced individuals to convert, and simultaneously, they denigrated Hindu deities to further these conversions. When Hindus opposed this, a Hindu individual was stabbed by one of the accused and threatened with death. According to media reports, the Christians accused were identified as Vashishtha Bharti, Sanju Bagh, also known as Sanju Senapati, and another accomplice. For several years, they had illegally converted poor and mentally challenged Hindus in a private house in Bengali Colony, Kukur Beda. They enticed individuals with financial incentives, threatened them, intercepted them en route, and brought them home under the guise of prayer meetings. The accused also denigrated Hindu deities to carry out the conversions. As a result, the local residents had previously lodged complaints at the concerned police station, but the authorities failed to take effective action, which emboldened the conversion group. Upon learning about these activities, Mahanagar Bajrang Dal workers, together with local residents, opposed the conversions being conducted in the guise of prayer meetings. In response, Sanju Nag stabbed Lokesh Sahu, a Hindu youth, with a knife, intending to kill him and further threaten his life. Local Hindu residents and Hindu activists opposing conversion explained that even Hindu children from nearby areas were also gathered and subjected to brainwashing, where Hindu deities and Hinduism were denigrated. The Hindu activists expressed that this was a sensitive issue and called for strict action against the accused. Members of Hindu society and Bajrang Dal also demanded that a stringent FIR be registered at the local police station under the relevant sections. On the matter, ASP Daulatram Porte of Raipur West stated that members of Hindu organisations had registered a complaint. Based on the complaint, the police detained three Christians who were accused at the scene. The police then stated that an investigation was underway and an interrogation of the accused would be conducted to obtain further details of this case.
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- Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducements. 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 subcategory selected 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 subcategory selected is- Attempting to convert/converting by denigrating Hinduism. In several cases, Hindus are converted or an attempt is made to convert Hindus by denigrating their faith, Hinduism. In such cases, the Hindus associate with the non-Hindu perpetrators often by choice and then, the attempt to convert them by insulting their faith, showing the faith down etc begins. An example of this would be a non-Hindu gathering where the Hindus are attending the gathering of their own free will. However, once they attend the gathering, there is an explicit attempt to convert them by abusing their faith and hailing the faith of the perpetrator. The denigration of the Hindu faith is often based on misrepresentation of the Hindu faith, its doctrine and scriptures and insult to espoused traditions if not blatant lies about Hindu beliefs and ways. Such conversions or attempts at conversions are driven by animosity towards the Hindu faith and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The other subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation, or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary category selected is- Conversion of minors 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. Another primary category selected in this case is- Attack not resulting in death. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save the victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. Another primary category selected is- Hate Speech against Hindus. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Violent threats. Violent threats, explicit, implicit or implied, is the most dangerous form of hate speech since it goes beyond discriminatory and prejudicial language to express the intent of causing harm to an individual or a group of people based on their religious identity and faith. There could be several different kinds of threats that are issued to Hindus based on religious animosity. An explicit threat would mean the direct threat of violence towards an individual Hindu, a group of Hindus or Hindus at large. Physical violence, death threats, threats of destruction of property belonging to Hindus and threats of genocide would mean explicit threats against Hindus for their religious identity. Implicit threats may not be a direct threat but implied through the use of symbols of actions – for example – in the Nupur Sharma case, other than explicit threats, there were also implicit threats when Islamists took to the streets to burn and beat her effigies. It implies that they want to do the same to Nupur Sharma – thereby is considered an implicit threat. Violent threats can be delivered in person, through letters, phone calls, graffiti, or increasingly through social media and other online platforms. It would be important to understand that a threat – explicit or implicit, online or offline – to an individual who happens to be a Hindu does not qualify as a religiously motivated threat. Such a threat, while vile and dangerous, could be owing to non-religious reasons and/or personal animosity. To qualify as a religiously motivated threat, it would need to exhibit an indication that the individual is being targeted for religious reasons and/or owing to his/her religious identity as a Hindu. In this case, Hindus were lured with incentives, coerced, and manipulated into converting to Christianity. The accused denigrated Hindu gods and goddesses, and even stabbed and threatened a Hindu man for opposing conversions. The nature of these conversion efforts, the use of inducements to exploit Hindus, and the impact on the wider Hindu community all point to a targeted action against Hindus as a group. When individuals or organisations focus their conversion efforts on members of a particular religion, in this instance, Hindus, it demonstrates fundamental disrespect towards the Hindu faith. Conversion, when driven by external persuasion or pressure rather than personal conviction, is not simply about adopting a new belief system; it is an attempt to undermine the traditions, values, and identity of the Hindu community itself. Through such actions, these Christian missionary members specifically targeted Hindus, reflecting a distinct lack of respect for Hinduism and its followers. These acts were intended to strip Hindu victims of their faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. Furthermore, the use of financial incentives to induce Christian conversion clearly indicates that these actions were not motivated by kindness. Instead, they were calculated attempts to exploit vulnerable Hindus because of their religion. By offering inducements to vulnerable people, the Christian perpetrators were effectively emotionally blackmailing those desperate for support. This pattern is often seen in incidents where Christian missionary groups target socially and economically disadvantaged Hindus to further their conversion agenda. Such coercion strips Hindus of their agency and dignity, resulting in forced conversions. These are not isolated events but premeditated efforts to undermine Hinduism and persuade Hindus to abandon their faith. Such acts reveal deep-seated religious animosity against Hindu victims. The Christian perpetrators also denigrated Hindu gods and goddesses in an effort to convert people to Christianity. This behaviour goes beyond mere debate or proselytising; it constitutes an act of incitement and insult directed at the core beliefs of the Hindu community. Such statements are intended to demean and undermine Hindu faith, fostering an atmosphere of hostility and disrespect. These acts of insult towards Hinduism spring from Christian theology, which expresses disdain for polytheistic faiths. Christians categorise Hindus as 'polytheists', thereby encouraging religious hatred and targeted attacks on the Hindu community. It is also important to highlight that the victims also included minors. This means that any genuine consent or change of heart was absent from the outset. Minors are particularly susceptible to manipulation and coercion, lacking the maturity to fully grasp the implications of religious conversion. In this instance, the Christian perpetrators exploited the vulnerability of Hindu children to advance their conversion agenda, reinforcing the religious motivation at play. Reports reveal that such conversions have been ongoing for several years. These repeated acts of inducement, manipulation, and defamatory rhetoric against Hinduism demonstrate a clear pattern of targeting and undermining Hindu identity and culture. This was not a single instance or a matter of accident; it was a sustained and systematic campaign directed at erasing the Hindu identity of the victims and coercing them to convert to Christianity. This makes the religious motivations behind the crime evident. These proselytising activities stem from inherent hostility towards the victim’s faith, especially in the case of Abrahamic religions that regard non-adherents as inferiors and dehumanise them until they convert. This approach makes the crime thoroughly religiously motivated. It is also crucial to highlight that one of the Christian perpetrators stabbed a Hindu man, Lokesh, for opposing conversion efforts. This act was a clear expression of religious animosity. Lokesh was attacked precisely because he stood against predatory conversion activities targeting Hindus; the violence was directed at him for defending his faith and resisting religious manipulation of members of his community. Such violence in response to resistance against forced conversion is a textbook example of a religiously motivated crime against Hindus. Similarly, issuing threats to kill the victim Lokesh, who objected to the conversion events, shows that the Christian perpetrators sought to silence and intimidate the Hindu community with fear and violence, directly targeting them for standing against predatory Christian conversion. Given that this case meets multiple parameters of a religiously motivated crime, it is being added to the hate crime database.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
