Hindu women targeted with false promises of healing for religious conversion in Vindhyachal
Vindhyachal, Uttar Pradesh, India 
21 June, 2025
Case Summary
In the Dheguaha village of Vindhyachal police station area, Uttar Pradesh, Christian missionaries attempted to convert Hindu women by providing a fake promise of healing. The complaint was filed by Vinay Kumar Singh of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). According to the complaint, a group of women had gathered in a room of a building located in Dheguaha village. Upon receiving this information, some locals arrived and recorded a video of the entire incident. After conducting prayers, the women were being told about Christianity, and it was promised that they would be cured of diseases if they converted to it. The police were informed, and upon arriving at the scene, they took one of the staff members into custody. After watching the video, VHP members also reached the spot and demanded action on the matter. Vinay Kumar Singh reported that in 2003, land was purchased in the name of a trust, and an office was set up in Kalna Gaharwar. Dharmendra, a resident of Naugarh in Chandauli, settled there and began engaging in religious conversions. Station House Officer Amit Kumar Prajapati said that a case was registered and an investigation was initiated.
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 - 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 sub-category selected is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, with the tertiary 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. In this case, Hindu women were gathered by Christian missionaries and promised healing from diseases through conversion to Christianity. The victims were led to believe that embracing a new religion would result in tangible personal benefits—in this case, relief from physical ailments. Such inducements exploit vulnerabilities. They are not based on free will or informed spiritual seeking. The Hindu identity of the women was central to the incident—they were approached as Hindus and persuaded to abandon their faith in exchange for promises of healing. This form of coercion strips people of their agency and dignity and enforces forced conversions. These are not random or isolated incidents, but rather cases deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims. In this case, the Christian doctrinal content in the form of prayer was introduced under the guise of healing. Such acts are not isolated spiritual exchanges but part of a broader and more insidious effort to sow disaffection towards the victims’ own religion and draw them into a contrasting belief system. This pattern reflects the classic structure of predatory proselytisation wherein the trust, desperation, or hope of the victim is deliberately leveraged. The use of healing meetings as a facade for conversion exemplifies psychological grooming and subtle indoctrination. These gatherings serve not only to manipulate the perception of the targeted Hindus but also to create an emotional and psychological dependency on the perpetrators, positioning them as benefactors and saviours. This repeated and systematic manipulation is a symbol of religious grooming, where the end goal is the erosion of the victim’s Hindu identity. The sustained use of inducement, brainwashing, and manipulation to achieve religious conversions illustrates a deeply rooted hostility toward the Hindu faith and community, making this a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the proselytisation effort began. However, since the conversion attempt was reported on 22nd June 2025, we have considered this as the incident date
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
