Kanker: Violence erupted in Amabeda village in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district after a burial dispute between different tribal communities, leaving several police personnel injured.
The issue began on December 16, when Rajman Salam, sarpanch of Badetevda village under the Amabeda police station area, buried his father Chamra Ram Salam’s body on his family’s private land.
Villagers raised objections to his burial because while Rajman follows Christianity, his 70-year-old father reportedly remained a practising Hindu.
Some of the locals alleged that the burial was done in secrecy and not conducted in the traditional tribal way.
They even raised suspicion over his death, demanding an exhumation of the body. The executive magistrate followed with the exhumation after receiving a complaint on Thursday, December 18. An inquest and post-mortem examination will be conducted, and further legal action will follow, the official said.
“The issue created a tense situation in the village. Groups confronted each other, and incidents of stone-pelting occurred. Police took steps to control the situation. There was also damage to property,” the official said.
Several people, including more than 20 police personnel were injured in the violence that followed the burial dispute.
A mob vandalised a church’s prayer hall and set fire to articles inside. An Additional Superintendent of Police was among the injured, but the situation was now under control, officials said.
More than 20 police personnel, including an ASP, sustained injuries and were sent to the hospital.
In a video statement released on December 17, Rajman Salam said that his father died due to an illness at a hospital in Kanker on the evening of December 15.
His body was brought to the village the next morning, following which he informed gram panchayat members and village elders that although he had embraced Christianity, his father did not attend church, he said.
Hence, he wanted his father to be buried as per village customs, and he himself wanted to participate in the last rites, said Rajman.
The United Christian Forum alleged that a large mob provoked villagers by asserting that the Provisions of the Panchayats Extension to the Scheduled Areas Act, 1996 (PESA Act) allowed them to exhume the body, claiming the land belonged to a local deity and that a Christian burial was not permitted.
But a rival who had lost to him in the sarpanch election opposed his participation, he claimed.
“As I was not allowed to participate, I called my Vishwasi (Christian) friends and performed the burial as per our (Christian) rituals,” Rajman said.
Those who had lost the panchayat polls mobilised outsiders and instigated protests demanding exhumation of the body, he alleged. Police had asked for his consent for exhumation to avoid escalation of the dispute, but he had refused, he said.
According to police, there were minor clashes on Wednesday following which security was tightened and barricades were erected to prevent outsiders from entering Badetevda. However, on Thursday, some people who were carrying sticks entered the village, triggering fresh violence, said an official.
After the body was exhumed, a mob went on a rampage and vandalised a prayer hall. Police resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd.
Police have restricted the entry of outsiders for now and deployed additional force in the area.
The United Christian Forum documented a total of 23 burial-related incidents in 2025, including 19 in Chhattisgarh, two in Jharkhand, and one each in Odisha and West Bengal.
