Two Hindu boys die during a secretive conversion attempt by Christian evangelists
Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, India 
17 April, 2025
Case Summary
In the Penumudi village in the Bapatla district, Andhra Pradesh, two young Hindu men drowned during a baptism ceremony held at the Krishna River. The deceased were identified as Thalakayala Gowtham, aged 18, and Penumala Devadasu, aged 19. According to the police, the baptism ritual was organised by a local Christian pastor and attended by around 30 individuals. During the ceremony, five participants entered the deeper waters of the river. While three were rescued by villagers present at the scene, Gowtham and Devadasu were unable to return to safety. Their bodies were later recovered following a search operation by emergency personnel. Both Gowtham and Devadasu came from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, with their families working as daily wage agricultural labourers. Also, their family had no knowledge of them attending a baptism ceremony. In rural areas, individuals from low-income backgrounds are often targeted for conversions by Christians through the promise of material or social assistance, inducements or even threats. Local residents expressed shock and grief over the incident, with some calling for an investigation into how and why the young men became involved in the ceremony without their families’ awareness. Some people are also suggesting that the boys may have been brainwashed or offered inducements to participate in the baptism. The police initiated an inquiry to ascertain the sequence of events. As of the writing of this report, no arrests were made, and the investigation was ongoing.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is added to the tracker under the prime category of: - 'Predatory Proselytisation' and the sub-category selected is: - 'Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination' with tertiary sub-category being: - '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 tragic deaths of two Hindu youths during a covert baptism ceremony by Christian Evangelists in Andhra Pradesh’s Bapatla district must not be viewed merely as an accident, but as part of a broader pattern of predatory proselytisation, one that deliberately exploits economic vulnerabilities and systematically targets marginalised Hindu communities. The secrecy surrounding the conversion ritual, the complete absence of familial knowledge or consent, and the involvement of organised missionary efforts reflect a clear intent to manipulate and convert poor Hindu tribals to Christianity through inducements, emotional manipulation, or even threats of violence. This pattern, observed across similar cases, stems from the inherent hostility of Christianity towards the Hindu faith, which it seeks to replace entirely. When conversion campaigns specifically target underprivileged Hindu groups, using material lures, false promises, threats, or actively denigrating Hinduism, they are tools of cultural aggression and religious intolerance. These actions, rooted in the belief of Christian religious superiority and exclusivism, dehumanise Hindus and reduce their faith to something to be eradicated, thereby meeting the very definition of a religiously motivated hate crime.
Victim Details
Total Victim
2
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 2
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 2
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 2
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
