Minor Hindu school students subjected to religious indoctrination by Christian missionaries; offered money and better education, Hindu gods denigrated
Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India 
26 June, 2025
Case Summary
In Raipur, Chhattisgarh, Hindu school students were being influenced and subjected to an attempt at religious indoctrination by Christian missionaries near the school premises. According to reports, three female Christian missionaries were luring school students near Madhavrao Sapre School, Budhapara. They were reportedly urging and subtly brainwashing school students to go to church by saying phrases like “Who goes to church … you should go to church.” The Bajrang Dal activists who apprehended the Christian women stated that the children were being enticed with money and assurances of improved educational opportunities. They were told their academic performance would improve if they converted to Christianity. The Christian women also attempted to distance the children from their native faith by speaking against Hinduism. According to the activists, the women claimed that Hindu deities lacked power and that only Jesus was the true god. Their interaction with the children raised concern among the school authorities and local residents, who quickly informed the Police. The police arrived at the scene and arrested the three women for questioning. The accused were identified as Vibha Masih, Mamta Chauhan, and Namrata Chauhan. As per the initial investigation, police said the case seems to be related to religious conversion and exerting religious influence. The Hindu activists further stated that this was not a one-off occurrence but part of a recurring pattern of incidents of illegal conversion in the area. As of the date of writing this report, the investigation was ongoing to determine whether these women are linked to any larger conversion network. Legal proceedings have been initiated against them.
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: - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, with the tertiary category being: - Conversion of minor and 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 second sub-category selected here 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 third 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. This case has been added to the tracker because Hindu school students were being subjected to religious indoctrination by Christian missionaries near the school premises. Asking them to go to church was not just a casual suggestion, but a deliberate attempt at subtle religious indoctrination, an effort to make the students gradually comfortable with Christian culture and its religious practices. The ultimate goal of such interactions is to create familiarity and emotional acceptance, making it easier to influence or convert them in future. This method is often part of a larger pattern where soft exposure is used as the first step towards religious conversion. By normalising Christian practices in a casual, repeated manner, such proselytisation operates through psychological conditioning rather than overt coercion. Moreover, luring children by offering monetary inducements and better education opportunities is an attempt to convert is particularly alarming as it exploits a specific vulnerability of the victim. This is indeed a common tactic in efforts to influence or manipulate vulnerable individuals into changing their faith. This approach often targets economically disadvantaged groups, offering material benefits such as food, money, medical treatments or education in exchange for conversion. It creates a form of dependency that can alienate individuals from their original faith, as they may feel compelled to convert not out of genuine belief but due to immediate needs or financial pressures. Here, too, the Christian evangelists adopted a similar tactic of exploiting the vulnerability of the Hindu children to convert them to Christianity. Further, the accused also resorted to insulting Hindu deities to provoke and alienate the victims from their faith. This tactic is usually employed not only to assert the perceived superiority of their own religious beliefs over Hinduism but also to instil doubt in the minds of Hindus, making them more susceptible to conversion. The Christian faith, by its very theological foundations, places a strong emphasis on proselytisation. In pursuit of conversion objectives, Christian evangelists often employ unethical means, ranging from psychological pressure and misinformation to inducements or subtle brainwashing. These are not acts of charity or compassion, but carefully calculated strategies to engineer religious conversion. The recurring pattern of targeting Hindus under such pretences is what classifies this case as a religiously motivated hate crime, driven by antagonism towards a Hindu religious identity. The fact that they were engaging in these activities outside the school premises shows that they were specifically targeting students, all of whom were minors, as confirmed by Bajrang Dal activists, and thus would be incapable of understanding or resisting this deception or indoctrination. 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. This case demonstrates 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 religious-motivated hate crime. These actions stem from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith must be brought into their fold. This exclusivist worldview fuels a conversion-centric mindset, where Hindu faith is seen not just as different but as something to be corrected or replaced. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
female
Sources 
