Chhattisgarh family forced to 'reconvert' to Hinduism after locals oppose alleged Christian burial
RAIPUR: A deceased woman's family was forced to 'reconvert' to Hinduism after locals objected to her burial allegedly according to Christian customs in Borai village of Chhattisgarh's Dhamtari district. The latest incident comes just a few days after communal clashes broke out due to a dispute over a 'Christian burial' in Amabeda village of Kanker district. Locals claimed that the deceased woman, Punia Sahu (65), supposedly converted to Christianity and had been attending prayers at the Church. While the woman's family was preparing for her funeral, villagers reportedly backed by a Hindutva brigade began protesting against her burial. When the family tried to take the body to a different burial ground, villagers once again protested and demanded that the family perform last rites in accordance with Hindu customs. The land dug up for burial was refilled with soil, and the body was safeguarded by the family for a day and a half. Only after the family finally agreed to conduct last rites according to Hindu customs, a dignified burial was allowed. The district administration along with the police swung into action to prevent the situation turning volatile as Thursday was a Christmas day and the tension prevailed in the region. All disputes were sorted out, and the burial was conducted this morning (Friday) as per Hindu rituals with the agreement from the samaj pramukh (community leaders), Dhamtari district police chief Suraj Singh Parihar told TNIE . A local town inspector camping at Borai village, Narendra Singh, said that the deceased woman belonged to the Sahu community which has a tradition of burying the body. He said that in this incident, the issue was the woman's alleged conversion to Christianity. The district administration and police intervened to pacify the agitated villagers, and helped the family to work out an amicable solution. The administration was on alert mode, Singh said. Following the setting ablaze of two churches during the violence that flared up in Kanker district on December 18, Senior Superintendent of Police Indira Kalyan Elisila was shifted to Sarguja as DIG Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF).
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