Hindu woman assaulted and threatened by in-laws for refusing to convert to Christianity
Jamui, Bihar, India 
24 May, 2025
Case Summary
In Jamui, Bihar, a Hindu woman was pressured to convert to Christianity by her in-laws. They persecuted, assaulted and threatened to kill for not converting to Christianity. The Hindu woman named Sonali Devi filed a complaint at the SP office along with her husband, Sahadev Das. The incident took place in Baliyadih village under the Jhajha block. Sonali lives in a house built on her share of the family land, while her husband works in Kolkata. The victim said that her father-in-law, Tarni Das, her mother-in-law Suruti Devi, and her brother-in-law Kanhaiya Das converted to Christianity two years ago. Now, they are pressuring her to do the same. Upon her refusal to convert, they physically assaulted her. She has been threatened that unless she converts, she will not receive her share of the land. The victim narrated that her brothers-in-law, Kanhaiya Das and Panchu Das, beat her with sticks, calling her a witch (Dayan). She also revealed that her hair was forcefully chopped off by an exorcist after being branded a "witch." She added that she was mistreated whenever she worshipped Hindu deities and was threatened with death. Sonali Devi stated that she approached the Jhajha police station twice regarding the matter, but received no help. Although an attempt at a settlement was made at the village panchayat level, her in-laws refused to comply. She has now appealed to the Superintendent of Police (SP) for justice and demanded strict action against the accused. Regarding the case, Jhajha Station House Officer (SHO) Sanjay Singh said that the issue appears to be related to a land dispute.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Predatory Proselytisation. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The other sub-category selected is - Attempting to convert/converting by denigrating Hinduism. In several cases, Hindus are converted or an attempt is made to convert Hindus by denigrating their faith, Hinduism. In such cases, the Hindus associate with the non-Hindu perpetrators often by choice and then, the attempt to convert them by insulting their faith, showing the faith down etc begins. An example of this would be a non-Hindu gathering where the Hindus are attending the gathering of their own free will. However, once they attend the gathering, there is an explicit attempt to convert them by abusing their faith and hailing the faith of the perpetrator. The denigration of the Hindu faith is often based on misrepresentation of the Hindu faith, its doctrine and scriptures and insult to espoused traditions if not blatant lies about Hindu beliefs and ways. Such conversions or attempts at conversions are driven by animosity towards the Hindu faith and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. In this case, the victim, Sonali Devi, was targeted because of her Hindu identity. She was subjected to intimidation, violence, and persecution because she refused to abandon her faith and convert to Christianity. The pressure to convert was not incidental or benign. According to the victim, her in-laws, who had themselves converted, explicitly used threats of physical harm and denial of property rights as tools to coerce her into conversion. She was beaten with sticks and branded a “witch” and her hair was forcibly cut. These forms of assault and psychological torture were not isolated incidents but were directly tied to her refusal to renounce her Hindu faith. The fact that the victim was mistreated for worshipping Hindu deities further evidences the hatred directed at her faith. This aligns with documented patterns where attempts to convert Hindus are accompanied by insults, misrepresentations, or contempt for Hindu beliefs, suggesting a deeper hostility rather than mere proselytising. In conclusion, the assault on Sonali Devi is not a domestic or property matter in isolation—it is a religiously motivated hate crime, where the victim’s Hindu identity was the primary trigger for sustained physical and psychological persecution with the intent to force conversion. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the woman's ordeal began, but it mentions that the accused beat her on 25th May, 2025. Since this is the earliest date mentioned, we are considering this as when the victim's ordeal began and using this as the incident date. While media coverage of the incident emerged on May 26, 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
