MUMBAI, India – A Christian wedding party was attacked, allegedly by Hindu extremists, in Chhattisgarh, a state in central India.

The incident happened on the evening of June 11, causing severe injuries to many people and extensive damage to vehicles at a village in the Raipur district.

According to Arun Pannalal, President of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, a Pentecostal Christian was hosting a wedding reception for the marriage of his son, when a mob armed with sticks and rods, allegedly belonging to right wing extremists group attacked the wedding party.

They vandalized and burned the bike and car parked outside. The wedding decoration was also damaged.

Fearing for their lives, family members of both the bride and groom locked themselves inside the house as the mob attempted to break down the door.

Later the groom fled for his life in a different direction, the bride ran away and hid herself in the nearby fields to escape the attackers.

The situation further escalated when the attackers allegedly incited and gathered people from neighboring villages to join and launch a second wave of attack.

According to information received from officer Rajendra Diwan, the Dharsiwa police station in-charge, Gajanand Nishad – the host of the dinner – lodged a complaint at the police station, in which said the incident started at 9:30 pm.  The wedding ceremony of his son Rupendra Kumar Nishad took place at his home, when more than 12 people from the village started throwing stones inside the house.

He said the people at his home were brutally attacked. Nishad further said that the accused broke the door to enter the house. Then they threatened to kill all the guests. When some guests protested, they were beaten with sticks and stones.

The accused also vandalized the gifts given to the couple at the wedding. According to the victim, there has been a loss of about $12,000. He says that the family is very scared after this incident. He has demanded strict action against the accused by the police.

According to the 2011 census, over 93.25 percent of the Chhattisgarh state’s population practised Hinduism, above the national average of 80 percent. The Christian population is about 1.9 percent, below the national average of 2.3 percent.

The state government is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a Hindu-nationalist party.

Since 2014, India has been ruled by the BJP, which has strong links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a militant Hindu nationalist organization. Religious minorities have complained of increased harassment since the party took power on a Hindu-first platform.

Incidents of harassment against Christians and other religious minorities have increased across India, with various Christians being detained or arrested for “attempted conversion,” and places of worship being vandalized.

There were fears Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have a sweeping majority in the 2024 elections and consolidate Hindu nationalist policies in India, which was founded with a secular government. However, the party lost its majority, although it still rules with support from other parties. This means policies promoting Hindu nationalism continue, especially in states run by the BJP.

“Christians are being hounded out of villages in Chhattisgarh. This mob attacked the wedding party, saying we will not allow Christians in this village. In addition, they incited other local villagers against the innocent Christians. Law and order in Chhattisgarh has nearly collapsed, anarchy is rampant, and constitutional rights are nearly nonexistent,” Arun Pannalal, President of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, told Crux.

Archbishop Victor Thakur of Raipur and President of the Council of Bishops of Chhattisgarh told Crux the incident was concerning.

“It seems people responsible to maintain the law and order want to create jungle Raj by not being responsible and faithful to the Constitution of India and to their duties,” he said, referring to a Hindu state.

“We say certain countries are nurturing and supporting terrorists; the same thing is being done by the administration. The state administration is not only ignoring the attacks on Christians but seems even protecting the attackers,” the archbishop told Crux.