Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Anshu Tuteja escalated tensions by launching a targeted campaign against a local church in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district, accusing the religious structure of being illegally constructed on an encroached land.
Tuteja raided the church on December 29 alleging that it was illegally constructed on the encroached land and engaged in religious conversions. However, the incident came to light days after on January 3 after a video of the confrontation surfaced on social media.
In the viral video, Tuteja is seen issuing an ultimatum to the church management and local authorities, demanding the removal of the religious structure within three days. He further warned that if no action was taken within the given timeframe, he would personally come with his team and demolish the church.
The local Christian community of Raigarh has expressed concern over the threats with church representatives denying no illegal activities was done inside the church and that it serves as a place of worship for locals.
On multiple occasions, Tuteja has been reported leading mob protests outside Christian properties. On December 8, he raided a prayer meeting at a Christian household in Raigarh, harassing the attendees and making accusations of mass religious conversion.
In the same month on December 30, a BJP leader and aila panchayat member Durgesh Tiwari along with the police conducted a raid on a Christian gathering at Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol area.
He accused the pastor of engaging in religious conversion and threatened to kick the villagers out if they chose to leave Hinduism.
Violence against the Christian community across India has reached alarming levels with 673 incidents reported on the United Christian Forum (UCF) helpline by the end of October 2024.
The USCF’s “Violence Monitor Report 2024” notes a troubling emergence of far-right Hindu organisations’ activities targeting the Christian community by conducting vicious raids or other forms of violence.
In 2024, January saw 69 acts of violence against Christians, 64 in February, 68 in March, and 96 in September.
The largest number of hate crimes have been recorded in Uttar Pradesh with 182 incidents, followed closely by Chhattisgarh with 139 cases reported. Some of the other states that have reported an increasing number of hate crimes include Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Delhi and Haryana.
Amid the rising attacks on the Christian community, more than 420 Christian leaders and 30 church organizations have issued an urgent appeal to the President of India Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging immediate intervention.
