Church vandalised, senior cop attacked by tribal mob in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur

According to the police, tribals staged a demonstration on Monday to protest against a clash that took place between two communities over alleged “religious conversion” in Gorra village in Narayanpur district on Sunday.

A church was vandalised and a senior police officer was attacked in a clash between two tribal communities in Bastar’s Narayanpur district on Monday, police said.

Narayanpur superintendent of police (SP) Sadanand Kumar sustained injuries on his head and was rushed to a hospital for treatment (Twitter Photo)

Narayanpur superintendent of police (SP) Sadanand Kumar sustained injuries on his head and was rushed to a hospital for treatment and is out of danger, police said.

“The protestors arrived near Vishwa Dipti Christian School in the afternoon and tried to charge towards a church located in the school premises,” the SP said.

The SP further said after being alerted that the mob was trying to vandalise the church, he immediately rushed to the spot with other officials and tried to pacify the protestors. “They seemed convinced and were about to return, but suddenly someone hit me with a stick on my head,” he said.

Inspector general (IG) Bastar Sundarraj P, speaking about the incident said, “On Monday, a social meeting was organized in Narayanpur district in which main leaders like Rupsai Salam, Narayan Markam, Potai and about 2000 people gathered to discuss social issues.”

According to the IG, after the meeting, the crowd divided into different groups armed with sticks and started moving towards the city to damage the place of worship (of a particular community).

He said police and administration tried to control the crowd, however, ignoring the advice, the mob started vandalising and pelting stones.

“SP Narayanpur and 5-6 police personnel also got hurt in the incident. They were given primary treatment, and their condition is normal at present,” the IG said.

Additional forces were deployed to control the situation, the IG said.

It is noteworthy that before the social meeting, the collector and SP Narayanpur held a meeting with the leaders asking to maintain peace and order in the area.

According to the police, tribals staged a demonstration on Monday to protest against a clash that took place between two communities over alleged “religious conversion” in Gorra village in Narayanpur district on Sunday.

A victim of the incident told media persons that a mob in Gorra village attacked tribal Christians alleging ‘forced conversion’ by the community.

District additional superintendent of police (ASP), Hemsagar Sidar, however, said the scuffle was not related to conversion but six people were injured in the incident, including a policeman.

“This is true that Monday’s mob was led by some right-wing leaders. The tribals and leaders who led the protest today had some grievances regarding the ongoing conversion and for this, they have also convened a meeting today in the district,” a senior administrative officer, on condition of anonymity, said.

Meanwhile, Narayanpur collector Ajeet Vasant said the situation is under control and extra police forces from neighbouring districts have been deployed.

“One church has been vandalised by the protestors and two others were attacked but no damage took place. Police are identifying the violent protestors and cases will be registered,” said Vasant.