A dispute over a Christian burial in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region triggered communal violence in Kanker district on Thursday, leaving several persons injured and a prayer hall vandalised, The Hindu reported.
At least 20 police personnel, including Additional Superintendent of Police Ashish Banchhor, were among those injured while trying to control the clashes, The Indian Express quoted officials as saying.
The tensions began on Tuesday in Bade Teoda village after the sarpanch Rajman Salam buried his 70-year-old father a day after his death. In a video released the same day, Salam said that he had converted to Christianity, while his father had not.
Salam claimed that he sought permission from village elders to bury his father according to tribal customs, but was told that the burial could not take place in his presence because he is a Christian.
He then went ahead with a Christian burial on his private land, after which the clashes were reported, according to The Wire.
“Everybody should be allowed to bury their dead,” Salam told the news outlet. “We are ready to compromise and bury him again as per local traditions, but they have to allow our presence.”
Salam also alleged that his political rival mobilised Hindutva workers from neighbouring villages and demanded that his father’s body be exhumed, The Indian Express reported.
“The police also asked me to give permission to exhume...
