Chhattisgarh: Church Vandalised, SP Attacked After Tribals' Protest Against Religious Conversion Turns Violent

A church was vandalised and six police personnel, including an IPS officer, were attacked and injured during a protest by tribals in connection with an alleged religious conversion in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur city, police said.

Narayanpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Sadanand Kumar suffered a head injury during the protest on Monday afternoon.

According to Narayanpur district officials, tribals had gathered to protest against a clash that had taken place between two communities over alleged religious conversion in Edka village in the district on Sunday (1 January).

'Around 2,000 people were present for a meeting held in Narayanpur. Local tribal leaders Rupsai Salam, Narayan Markam and few others were leading the gathering,' Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj told PTI.

After the meeting, the crowd separated into groups. Armed with sticks they charged towards a church located in a school, he said.

'When the police and district officials tried to stop them, some anti-social elements from the crowd hurled stones and attacked policemen with sticks', he added.

They entered the church and vandalised it.

'Narayanpur SP Sadanand Kumar and five to six other policemen sustained injuries in the attack. They were administered preliminary treatment. Their condition is stated to be stable,' the IG said.

Police personnel have been deployed in large numbers in the city, located around 300 km away from the state capital Raipur after the protest turned violent. Extra vigil is being maintained in sensitive areas.

An FIR will be registered and further action will be taken accordingly, the IG added.

Some visuals from the spot showed protesters barging into the premises of the church and ransacking it.

Talking to reporters at the hospital, SP Kumar said the protestors arrived near Viswadeepti High School in the afternoon and tried to charge towards the church located on the school premises.

'I 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,' the police officer said.

Narayanpur Collector Ajeet Vasant said the meeting was held by the people belonging to a community to protest against alleged religious conversion in the area.

The community leaders had assured the meeting would be peaceful, but it turned violent, he said.

Last month, a large number of people belonging to the Christian community staged a protest in front of the Collector's office in Narayanpur alleging 'atrocities' against them.

Protestors from at least 14 villages of the tribal-dominated district had claimed they were allegedly assaulted and evicted from their homes for following the Christian faith and sought action by the administration into the matter.

(with inputs from PTI)