Dalit Hindus induced to convert to Christianity under the guise of 'healing sessions'
Chunar, Uttar Pradesh, India 
16 May, 2025
Case Summary
In Dikshitpur village, located in the Chunar Kotwali area of Uttar Pradesh, Hindus belonging to the Harijan community were lured to convert to Christianity. The accused were identified as Yogendra and Jitendra. According to news reports, Yogendra and Jitendra, both residents of Varanasi, organised a 'healing session' at the Harijan Basti in Dikshitpur village with the underlying agenda of persuading Dalit Hindus to renounce their faith and convert to Christianity. The two men recited stories from the Bible in an effort to gain new converts. On the day of the incident, they held a prayer meeting specifically aimed at converting a Hindu man named Dinesh Bharti to Christianity. Upon being informed, the police arrived at the scene and recovered several items, including multiple Bibles and diaries. The police questioned the two accused, who claimed they had come for cake-cutting and dinner. However, villagers stated that Yogendra and Jitendra had gathered a large number of women, men, and children, and narrated stories from the Bible. After police interrogation, both individuals were released.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Predatory proselytisation. Under this, the 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 second sub-category relevant here is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, and within this, the tertiary category selected is- 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. This case represents a clear instance of religiously motivated hate crime as the perpetrators were targeting vulnerable Hindu families and attempting to convert them through inducement, including the prayer for curing illness. In such cases, the perpetrators do not rely on overt force or threats but exploit economic and social vulnerabilities, making use of trust, familiarity, or need as tools for religious conversion. The fact that this activity was conducted privately suggests deliberate stealth and manipulation. The fact that diaries were recovered from the site shows that this was not just an isolated act. It suggests a clear pattern, where the accused was specifically targeting Hindus for religious conversion. The families involved were led through a prayer ritual using Christian texts, which goes beyond mere exposure to a different faith and enters the territory of attempting to detach the victims from their own Sanatan Dharma beliefs. When the religious identity of a group becomes the focus of sustained conversion attempts through inducement or manipulation, it constitutes a form of religious aggression. The core of the crime lies not in individual belief but in the targeting of Hindus as a group, seeking to extract them from their traditions and community through non-transparent and predatory means, driven by a disregard for their faith. By presenting promises of miraculous healing or material benefits, these orchestrated events manipulate the poor and vulnerable into abandoning their faith, effectively stripping them of their religious identity. This inducement-driven conversion stems from an intrinsic animosity toward the victims' original faith, using their vulnerabilities as leverage to achieve religious and ideological dominance. 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.
Case Status
Perpatrator released by Police
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
