Christian evangelists invite Hindus on the pretext of a puja where they start preaching religious texts and luring the guests to convert to Christianity
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 
16 September, 2023
Case Summary
17 persons, including seven women, were arrested for inducing Hindus to religiously convert to Christianity in the Karhera locality in Ghaziabad's Sahibabad area. One of the accused had invited the Hindu victims to his house on the pretext of a puja. When the victims reached his house, the group of Christian evangelists started inducing them to religiously convert to Christianity. They preached religious texts and lured the Hindus, presumably belonging to economically humble backgrounds, by offering financial assistance and assuring cures for illnesses. Based on the complaint filed by one of the victims, the Ghaziabad police reached the scene and arrested 17 persons, including seven women.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
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. In this case, the Christian evangelists were attempting to exploit a specific vulnerability of the victims who were in all likelihood also economically backward. The evangelists exploited the poor Hindu victims by promising them cures for their ailments - a cure that they either could not afford or were incurable diseases. Since exploiting vulnerabilities for the explicit purpose of conversion is purely based on animosity towards the victim's faith, this case has been categorised as a religiously motivated hate crime.
Victim Details
Total Victim
10
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 10
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 10
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 10
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 10 to 100
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
