Villagers who attacked Christian families and practiced the tribal religions that drove them from their homes in Central India to practice their faith, threatened to kill them if they returned, sources said.
In Skama district of Chhattisgarh, Christian families were attacked, threatened and forced to exile on April 24 for their faith. Approximately 45 members of the 10 Christian family fled the village of Durandarba in Contatesil, scattered across nearby hills and forests. They spent the night outdoors before taking shelter at Chintalna’s church 11 miles away.
On April 28, Christians sent two women to Durandalva to measure the attitudes of the residents. They returned the horrifying thing and reported that the villagers threatened to kill them all if they still returned after Christ.
“I left Jesus Christ and only entered the village at that time,” they said.
On April 29th, they received news that the house of one of the escapees, Mediyam Lakhma, had been destroyed by fire. The assailant remains unidentified, but “it’s clear that the villagers did it,” Malcolm said.
Another helper, Saintes Malcolm, said, “Families had to flee towards the hills and, in order to escape the wrath of the villagers, they had to escape into the forest with women, children and elderly people, and have not returned home since.”
One of the attacked family members, including three children, remained in the village, said Kunjam Bechem, one of the exiled Christians.
“Christian and one of his (minor) sons were severely assaulted and their family was under house arrest by the villagers,” Bekem told Morningstar News.
Summoned and ambushed
The villagers summoned 11 families on April 24th. When Christians gathered as directed, about 60 villagers armed with thick wooden sticks surrounded them and began to challenge their faith.
They sternly demanded that Christians abandon Christ, but their families remained immobilized and provided explanations of their beliefs.
“We were dying of illness, but you didn’t care how we lived,” the Christian woman told the villagers. “Now Jesus heals us, we live a healthy life. Our health and peaceful life will bother you, and you will begin to question our faith.”
The verbal conflict quickly escalated into physical violence, and villagers attacked indiscriminately.
“They showed no mercy to the elderly, women, or children,” said Hirma Malkam. “The assault was ruthless.”
Villagers raided Christian homes, searching for important government documents that established their Scriptures and their identities, and then burned them.
“Some men entered our house and seized posters holding Bibles, biblical poems, bank documents, distribution cards (providing access to government dishes each month), my aadhaar card (biometric identification documents), and collected them and burned them.”
Christians were beaten so badly that they fled towards the hills and forests chased by their attackers.
“We were all scattered. Some people took shelter in the hills and shelter in the woods,” Bechem said. “The next morning we all met in Chimli, a village about three miles away from Durandalba, heading Chinli to Chintaluna’s church nine miles away and reuniting.”
On April 25th, Christians approached the Jagargunda Police Station, eight miles from Chintaluna in the forest, reporting the attack. Police escorted Christian to government hospitals on April 26 for a medical checkup.
According to Bechem, three minors, nine women and six men suffered brutal attacks.
Christian had not received a copy of the complaint and was not informed whether a formal charge had been filed against the attacker.
“The police advised us not to return to the village immediately and to have the issue resolved,” Bechem said.
Police summoned the attackers to the station and issued verbal warnings, Beshem said. Christians were later informed that villagers were repeatedly warned that crimes would have serious legal consequences.
Christian also filed a complaint with the collector, but “the police have not done anything yet, and there have been no arrests,” said Saintoche Malcolm.
45 members of these 10 families continue to take shelter in makeshift churches.
When Morningstar News contacted Hillmamalkam on May 8, asking about the Christian status, he said the rain had fallen twice and the church roof was leaking with hay and wooden logs.
“It was very difficult for Christians to stay dry and safe on rainy days all night,” he said.
Previous violence
Bechem and his wife Kamla, who are currently giving birth to a 5-month-old baby, have been practicing Christianity for three years.
“The villagers have never had problems with our faith,” said Bechem, who owns the village’s farmland.
Some community members practice Christianity for five years, while others may be like three years, three years, two years.
Bima Sodi, a Christian leader in the Sukuma region, has revealed that the Durandarva case is not an isolated lawsuit for expulsion. On April 12, seven Christian tribe families, 36, were expelled from Karigundam, a village under the jurisdiction of the Kistalam Police Station in Sukuma, 21 miles from Durandarva.
At a village council meeting attended by about 2,000 villagers from eight villages, 15 Christian families in Karigundam were pressured to abandon their faith.
According to Sodi, seven families were caught up in pressure that “fearing homeless and livestock” eight remained determined and refused to abandon their faith.
Following their refusal, a unanimous decision was reached, resulting in the expulsion of these eight families from the village.
On April 14, the Deputy Police Chief and the Indian Central Police (CRPF) visited the village after social media reports led the incident to the attention of authorities.
The report stated that they confronted village council leaders regarding illegal resolutions and warned them of legal consequences for similar actions in the future. They also assured that Christians had collected their belongings.
Karigundam and Durandarbha are both located in the Sukma district and have a very low population density of 45 people per square kilometre. The forest covers 65% of the district’s area, with nearly 85% of the population being tribes, with India’s lowest literacy rate of 29%.
Christian support organization Open Door ranks 11th in India on the 2025 global watch list where Christians face the toughest persecution. India came in 31st in 2013, but has steadily fallen in the rankings since Narendra Modi took power as prime minister.
Defenders of religious rights point to the hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government led by Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, who said that since Modi came to power in May 2014, he has encouraged Hindu extremists in India.
