Chhattisgarh: Church vandalised, SP sustains injuries during protest in Narayanpur

Narayanpur (Chhattisgarh) [India], January 2 (ANI): A Superintendent of Police (SP) sustained injuries after a group of tribals attacked him when they were stopped from vandalising a church in Bangla Para locality in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Monday.
The church was also vandalised in the incident. According to reports, there was a scuffle between tribals and Christians in the area for the past few days over alleged illegal conversion in the district. There was also a bloody clash between the two sides last night, after which the tribals organised a meeting to shut down the city today.
The injured Superintendent of Police (SP) Sadanand Kumar said, "A meeting was called by the tribal community in which we have advised the tribal leaders to organise the meeting in a peaceful manner. In the meantime, a few members of the community became uncontrollable and went to vandalise the church. I also reached there along with police personnel and tried to pacify the situation."
"They seemed convinced and were stepping back but meanwhile, some people attacked me from behind in which I sustained injuries. The police administration, however, exercised restraint in the area and separated them from the spot. An investigation into the matter will be conducted and further action will be taken accordingly," SP Kumar added.
Collector Ajit Vasant said, "A community of the district has formed a plan to stage a protest here. A few members of the community were headed to vandalise a church in Bangla Para area. The police officials present on the spot tried to pacify the situation but the mob got out of control."
"In the incident, Narayanpur SP sustained head injuries and his health is normal now. A few police personnel also sustained injuries in the incident. The administration showed restraint and efforts were made to convince and to separate them from the spot," Vasant added. (ANI)