One of the victims of a Hindu nationalist attack on a Christian prayer service in Odisha state, India, on June 21. Photo: Bishop Pallab Lima
More than 30 Christians who had gathered for a prayer meeting were injured in an attack by a large mob in eastern India’s Odisha state on the morning of June 21, CSI has learned. At least 20 of them sustained serious injuries and were admitted to hospital. As of June 27, no one has been arrested in connection with the incident.
A group of around 400 people from surrounding villages entered Kotamateru, a remote village governed by the Matapaka local council in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, and launched a coordinated assault. The region has limited connectivity and poor access to emergency services.
The mob used weapons including axes, according to local media report.
One resident managed to inform a pastor outside the village, who then contacted the Malkangiri Police Station. Officers arrived soon after and helped evacuate the wounded, who were taken to the Malkangiri District Hospital for treatment.
Fearing more violence and rising tensions, the remaining Christians took shelter in a nearby church, which is now serving as a temporary relief center.
The peaceful gathering had been a prayer event to bless seeds before the planting season.
Police officials have alleged a different version of events. Inspector Rigan Kinda of the Malkangiri Police Station told the Indian newspaper The Telegraph that the violence stemmed from a family dispute between two brothers, one a Christian and the other a Hindu. He claimed that on the day of the incident, the Christian group was surrounded and questioned about their religious beliefs, leading to a confrontation and injuries.
Local Christian leaders have alleged that a Hindu nationalist group, the Bajrang Dal, was behind the attack. Bajrang Dal district leader Sibapada Mirdha denied any involvement but said that Hindus were increasingly vocal about what they viewed as “forced” conversions by Christians. He told The Telegraph that “sometimes there is a spontaneous reaction to this.”
Hindu nationalist groups have been known to spread misinformation that fuels religious divisions, incite local residents, and later portray attacks as spontaneous reactions to alleged Christian conversions. According to the government’s 2011 census, Christians make up only 2.3 percent of India’s population.
Police inaction after attack
The Malkangiri Pastors Fellowship submitted a memorandum to the Superintendent of Police on June 23, demanding legal action and accountability for the failure to prevent the attack.
A police complaint was registered under legal provisions related to causing hurt and unlawful confinement. But as of this writing, no arrests have been made.a local source said the complaint failed to include more serious charges under the country’s penal code, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Charges for attempted murder (Section 109) could have been included given the severity of the injuries sustained by over 20 people, along with charges for deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings and disturb a religious gathering (Sections 299 and 300).
Local Christian leaders have called for a permanent police outpost in Kotamateru and nearby villages, saying it is necessary to prevent further violence. Security in the area has still not been increased, even on a temporary basis, after the incident.
Bishop Pallab Kumar Lima, a senior leader in the Anglican Church of North India, described the situation as “a grave humanitarian crisis,” according to Catholic Connect. As president of the Odisha Chapter of the Rashtriya Christian Morcha (or National Christian Board, a recently established Christian advocacy group), Bishop Lima called on the state government to deliver immediate relief, ensure justice and protect the rights of religious minorities.
A local Christian leader said the government must urgently provide compensation, relief and rehabilitation to the victims under the Odisha Victim Compensation Scheme and other applicable state relief mechanisms.
Increasing persecution in Odisha
Odisha has seen a rise in anti-Christian incidents in recent years, with local communities reporting repeated threats and a few confrontations.
Recent independent fact‑finding teams visiting Odisha between March and April 2025 documented a sharp rise in incidents targeting Christians in Nabarangpur, Gajapati and Balasore districts. The teams recorded repeated cases where Christian families were denied burial rights, forced to convert in order to bury their dead, and experienced both police violence and institutional neglect.
For example, in Nabarangpur alone, at least eight incidents since 2022 involved mobs exhuming bodies, desecrating graves or forcibly converting remains to Hinduism before allowing burial. In one case, the body of Saravan Gond, a young Christian man, was stolen and the deceased’s mother and sister were allegedly assaulted while police stood by.
A more severe and widely documented outbreak of violence occurred in Odisha’s Kandhamal district over 2007–08. In December 2007, mobs burned more than 100 churches and over 700 homes at Christmas time.
Violence escalated again in August 2008 following the killing of Hindu leader Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati. The murder was falsely blamed on Christians and it further resulted in the deaths of dozens of Christians, displacement of thousands, destruction of over 395 churches, and reports of gang rape and forced conversions.
In a recent interview with CSI, a local pastor said threats had increased since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took over the state government in Odisha in June 2024.
Hindu nationalist groups have become significantly more active since the BJP came to power, the pastor said. He described living in fear, unable to leave his home for work due to threats of violence. He also referred to a video circulating on social media in which a Hindu nationalist leader warned Christians, “If you’re going to convert people, you will see what will happen.”
Local Christians have appealed to the Christian community in India and abroad to pray for their safety and for justice to be served.
