New Delhi: Local opposition to a Christian man’s burial at a Chhattisgarh village reached a violent crescendo in which a mob set a Christian man’s home on fire, vandalised churches and torched a prayer hall. Stone pelting by the mob injured 20 police personnel.The Badetevda village in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district had been on edge for the past four days over a dispute between a Christian family, local villagers and Hindutva groups. The dispute had to do with the burial of a Christian man’s father.Footage accessed by The Wire shows a home being set on fire and a vigilante vandalising the property with a bamboo stick. Angry mobs armed with bows and arrows were seen rampaging through prayer halls in the presence of police.In Badetevda village, Kanker, Chhattisgarh a lcoal Christian home and prayer hall were attacked and set afire by a mob over a burial dispute. Photo: Video screengrabOn December 15, Rajman Salam, 36, took his 70-year-old ailing father, Chamra Ram Salam, to the district hospital in Kanker. His father passed away within hours. Rajman, who was elected as the sarpanch last year and had converted to Christianity many years ago, initially wanted to cremate his father as per local Hindu traditions. “However, I was told that I can’t have the rituals because of my Christian faith,” he told The Wire.The next day, December 16, the Salam family decided to bury Chamra Ram as per Christian rituals on their private land. “Soon,” Rajman told The Wire, “locals objected to the burial [following Christian rituals] and a verbal fight began.” He alleged that once Hindutva groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bajrang Dal got involved, the burial ceremony was stopped, after the quarrel rose to a physical skirmish. Rajman said that his friends and family were injured in the skirmish.Rajman said that the police did not stop the Hindutva rabble-rousers but began pressuring his family to back off.“They only intervened when their own were assaulted and attacked,” Rajman said.Police personnel tend to one of their own injured by a mob over a burial dispute in Badetevda village, Kanker, Chhattisgarh. Source: Video screengrabAccording to a note shared by the police, some villagers had expressed suspicion regarding the circumstances of Chamra Ram Salam’s death and objected to the burial, alleging that it was not conducted according to traditional tribal customs. They demanded exhumation of the body for further examination.Acting on the villagers’ complaint, on December 18, the Executive Magistrate issued an order for exhumation. Post-mortem examinations were to be conducted, following which further legal proceedings would be initiated. The body was exhumed by the administration on the same day, after persistent protests against the burial.Soon after, angry mobs targeted churches and homes belonging to Christians, a local journalist told The Wire. It was these attacks that were caught on camera. “The body was taken away without our permission. Churches were torched and my home was set on fire,” Rajman alleged. He accused the police and administration of not acting swiftly enough to prevent the violence.A mob attacks a Christian home and compound despite police presence in Badetevda village, Kanker, Chhattisgarh. Source: Video screengrabThe Wire contacted multiple officials in the Kanker police station, none of whom were available for comment. Additional Superintendent of Police Aakash Shrishimal informed The Wire that an FIR had been registered after the incident against those involved in the violence. He said on December 19 that the situation was then under control.He shared a police brief with The Wire, also stating that “clashes among villagers” on December 18 led to incidents of stone pelting and property damage:“Police personnel and the Executive Magistrate intervened to restore order. Over 20 police personnel, including Additional Superintendent of Police (Antagarh) Ashish Banchhor, sustained injuries during the incident. All injured officers were provided primary medical treatment and later referred to higher medical centers for further care. Senior administrative and police officers, including the Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range), Deputy Inspector General (Kanker), Collector (Kanker) and Superintendent of Police (Kanker), are currently present at the site. The situation in the area is under control, and authorities are making concerted efforts to ensure the matter is resolved peacefully through legal and administrative measures.”While the note mentioned harm to property and acts of violence, police officials did not specify the charges or the extent of the damage mentioned in the FIR.Rajman said, “Everybody should be allowed to bury their dead. We are ready to compromise and bury him again as per local traditions, but they have to allow our presence.”A press release from the United Christian Forum noted that the incident in Badetevda village was part of a series of cases where Christians have been targeted over burials. “Burials are becoming contentious and politically charged. Grieving families are forced to face violent mobs, forced exhumations and forced conversions of faith.”The United Christian Forum recorded 23 burial-related incidents in 2025 (19 in Chhattisgarh, 2 in Jharkhand and one each in Odisha and West Bengal), compared with about 40 such cases in 2024 (30 in Chhattisgarh, 6 in Jharkhand and the rest in Bihar and Karnataka).