Police in Chhattisgarh arrested seven Christians on Republic Day, January 26, following attacks by members of the Hindu hardline group Bajrang Dal. The arrests were made in two separate cases related to accusations of religious conversion.
The attacks occurred in Mowa, a town near Raipur, where Christians had gathered for a national flag-raising ceremony after their Sunday prayer service. Arun Pannalal, president of Chhattisgarh’s Christian Forum, told UCA News that members of Bajrang Dal accused the Christians of illegal conversion, a common charge used to target the Christian community.
Some Christians were injured in the attack, and one person remains in critical condition. Bajrang Dal members also vandalized a house church and filed a complaint at Pandri police station, leading to the arrest of three Christians. They face charges under the state’s anti-conversion law.
Earlier the same day, in Balrampur district, a pastor and three of his associates were arrested in the village of Saruat after accusations of conversion. Police reportedly confiscated Bibles and promotional leaflets from the pastor’s residence during a raid.
Chhattisgarh, governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has seen growing tensions between Hindu hardliners and the Christian community. The BJP’s proposed new anti-conversion law aims to impose harsher punishments for religious conversions through coercion, fraud, or allurement. The existing Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act already punishes conversions under similar grounds.
Christian leaders, including the United Christian Forum (UCF), have condemned the violence, calling it anti-Christian propaganda. In 2024, UCF recorded 165 incidents of violence against Christians in Chhattisgarh, with the northern state of Uttar Pradesh seeing the highest number.
Christians in Chhattisgarh make up less than 2 percent of the state’s population of 30 million.
