Hindus lured with inducements, including promise of curing diseases, and brainwashed with religious texts to convert to Christianity
Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
20 September, 2025
Case Summary
In Bagiya village in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Hindus were targeted for forced Christian conversion. The accused lured the Hindu victims with monetary inducements and brainwashed them using Christian religious texts to convert them to Christianity. The victims were also manipulated, stating that their illness would be cured if they converted to Christianity. According to media reports, a religious conversion racket operating under the guise of a cloth shop in Bagiya village was exposed on 21st September 2025. This occurred when Surendra Yadav, head of the RSS's Dharma Jagran programme in Jaisinghpur, and his associates arrived at the shop, they found Christian missionary books and several Hindus inside. The police were called, and upon their arrival, the people inside the shop fled. Based on Surendra’s complaint, the police registered a case against the Christian shop owner and arrested four Christians, including the main accused. According to Surendra Yadav, he received information on 21st September 2025 that Hindus were being forcibly converted to Christianity at a cloth shop on Barousa Road in Bagiya village. He, along with his associates Santosh and Ashish, went to the shop. Surendra stated that several women were present, holding Christian missionary books. The shop owner and accused, Tulsi Ram, a resident of Saeti, Purushottam Pur, Jaisinghpur, was offering various inducements, including a cure from diseases to Hindu women and men to convert to Christianity. People were converted under the guise of this superstition. When Surendra objected, Tulsi Ram and his Christian associates threatened to kill him. Surendra then informed the Jaisinghpur police about the incident. When police arrived, the women and others present fled. Police seized Christian missionary books from the shop and confiscated a register. Some people recorded a video of the incident. The materials were taken to the Jaisinghpur police station. Satendra Kumar Singh, officer-in-charge of Jaisinghpur police station, stated that a case of religious conversion was registered against the shop owner based on Surendra Yadav’s complaint. Four people, including the main accused, were taken into custody and were being questioned. Following this, they were presented before a court, after which they were sent to jail. The police found the names and mobile numbers of some villagers in the seized register. Investigations are ongoing to determine the involvement of these individuals in the religious conversion activities.
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 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 subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. 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, Hindus, both men and women, were lured with monetary and medical incentives to convert to Christianity by Christian evangelists. Even Christian religious literature and texts were used to brainwash the Hindu victims into conversion. The nature of the conversion efforts and the wider impact on the Hindu community all indicate a targeted action against Hindus as a collectivity. When individuals or groups focus their efforts on converting members of a particular religion, in this case, Hindus, then it demonstrates a fundamental disregard for the Hindu faith. Conversion, especially when not based on personal conviction but rather on external persuasion or pressure, is not simply about sharing a different belief system. It is an attempt to undermine the values, traditions, and identity of the Hindu community. In this context, the Christian perpetrators specifically targeted Hindus, which suggests a lack of respect for Hinduism and its followers. Such actions are carried out to strip Hindu victims of their faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. The use of financial and medical incentives to encourage Christian conversion clearly showed that these actions were not driven by kindness or charity. Instead, they were calculated attempts to exploit vulnerable Hindus solely because of their religion. By offering inducements, the Christian perpetrators effectively emotionally blackmailed desperate Hindus seeking assistance. Such tactics are frequently observed where Christian missionary groups target socially and economically disadvantaged Hindus to advance their agenda of religious conversions. Even promises of curing diseases were used as a pretext to attract sick Hindus into converting, demonstrating clear exploitation of their vulnerability. This form of coercion stripped Hindus of their agency and dignity and enforced forced conversions. These were not random or isolated incidents but rather premeditated efforts to undermine the Hindu faith, persuade Hindus to abandon their religion, and convert to Christianity. Such acts are deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims and their faith, making them religiously motivated crimes. The Christian perpetrators were also actively attempting to indoctrinate the Hindu victims by using Christian religious texts and literature. Using the scriptures or literature of one faith to deliberately target and manipulate members of another, with the clear intention of religious conversion, represents a direct attack on the Hindu faith. Such actions are designed to violate and undermine the beliefs of Hindu victims and are clear indicators of religious hostility towards Hindus and their religious identity. Such actions further demonstrate that this was not an isolated incident of evangelism, but rather part of a broader, organised operation to further religious conversions. When Christian religious material is used to exploit trust, sow doubt, and misrepresent the beliefs of Hindus to coerce conversion, particularly in a systematic manner, it constitutes a religiously motivated offence. When Surendra Yadav, a member of the RSS, objected to the forced conversions taking place, the accused issued him death threats. This intimidation of a Hindu protector attempting to shield others from forced religious conversion clearly exemplifies religious animosity. The threats were intended not only to silence opposition but also to instil fear among Hindus, discouraging them from defending their faith and community against ongoing coercion. Such actions reveal deep-seated hostility towards Hindus and a deliberate attempt to undermine their religious security. These instances of targeted proselytisation activities stem from inherent hostility towards the victims' professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to their faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert, making it a religiously motivated crime against Hindus. Since this case meets multiple parameters of a religiously motivated attack against Hindus and their faith, it is being added to the hate crime database.
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
