Hindus, including children lured to convert to Islam under the guise of 'blessings', Muslim man teaches Kalma to facilitate conversion
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
26 April, 2025
Case Summary
In Panki, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Hindus were lured to convert to Islam under the guise of seeking blessings and superstition. The conversion was carried out by a Muslim man. The victims of the conversion were three Hindu women, two elderly people and two children. According to a Live Hindustan report, in a flat in Shivalik apartments, Hindus were induced to convert to Islam by a Muslim man. The accused Muslim man was reciting the Kalma and teaching it to the Hindus with the intent to convert them to Islam. According to the residents of the apartment, on the day of the incident, the election committee members were visiting every flat to make a register. In this sequence, when they reached a flat, they heard the noise of someone chanting the Kalma. Thereafter, they discovered that a group of Hindus had been induced to convert to Islam under the guise of superstition. There were some writings in Urdu hanging on the wall. One of the Hindu attendees tried to escape, but was caught by the locals. He said that he had come to seek blessings from a baba ji (saint) living in this flat. Two of the attendees managed to escape. The concerned local Hindus created a ruckus at this attempt of predatory proselytisation and henceforth called the police. The police arrived at the spot and assured that an investigation would be done, however, they didn't file a complaint. According to the police, the flat belonged to an ITI principal, who had given it to a Muslim man, a practitioner of 'black magic'. Earlier, he lived in Maswanpur, and then he shifted to the flat in Shivalik apartments on 5th February 2025. He had called a Maulana from Farrukhabad. The police found a teenager from Maswanpur, two young women from Akbarpur and an auto driver who were being questioned. ADCP West Vijendra Dwivedi said that information was received about a ruckus created over religious conversion. Police found six people present in the flat. They were summoned to the police station for interrogation. He further said that the matter was being investigated by the police and Hindu organisations like the Bajrang Dal.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been included in the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation and the subcategory- 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 second sub-category relevant under Predatory Proselytisation is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Within this, the tertiary categories selected are- Conversion of minors 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 the 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 proselytisation, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes This case has been added to the hate crime database as it highlights the predatory nature of Islamic conversions of Hindus. Here, Hindus were being taught and forced to adopt Islamic prayers, under the guise of blessings and superstition, which thereafter would lead to conversions. The layer of superstition makes vulnerable Hindus fall prey to such predatory conversion traps, therefore, it highlights that such acts are not isolated instances but are indeed carried out with malicious intent to convert Hindus to Islam. When someone teaches Kalma to a Hindu with the intent of converting them, especially without full, free, and informed consent, it goes beyond sharing faith. It becomes an attempt to impose one’s belief system over another’s, which, knowingly or not, enforces a sense of religious supremacy. It sends the message that one faith is "right" or "superior," and that the other must be abandoned. This isn't just about personal belief anymore—it's about power, control, and erasing someone’s deeply held identity. Another point to be noted is that the conversion was also aimed at minors, indicating a lack of consent and a genuine change of conscience. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully mature, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, especially when employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. This makes it challenging for parents to identify and address instances of religious manipulation. Consequently, cases involving religious manipulation of minors not only represent an infringement on an individual's religious freedom but also demonstrate a calculated strategy of targeting those who are less able to resist or understand the long-term implications of conversion, making it a significant case of religiously motivated hate crime. Moreover, the Islamic theology believes in the spread of Islam and disdains all other polytheistic faiths, including Hinduism. This case is also motivated by disdain for the victim's Hindu identity. The accused Muslim man in this instance was teaching Hindus to recite the Islamic Kalma. This would eventually lead to them abandoning their Hindu faith and adopting Islam. This is a direct result of their doctrinal and intrinsic animosity against Hinduism. This is a subtle way to indoctrinate the local Hindus into discarding their original Hindu faith and converting to Islam. Since the central motivation is religion, this case has been added as a hate crime.
Victim Details
Total Victim
7
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 3
- Female 3
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 1
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 7
Age Group
- Minor 2
- Adult 2
- Senior Citizen 2
- Unknown 1
Case Status
Complaint not filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
