In one village, a crowd stirred up by Bajrang Dal extremists twice blocked the funeral procession. The police had to intervene to allow her to be buried on the family’s private land.
Raipur () – Even the question of burials in India is a pretext for discrimination against Christians by Hindu fundamentalists. This happened again recently in Chattisgarh State: a Christian woman was denied a public funeral under pressure from organized nationalist groups.
The Mrs. Mate Bekko died on Sunday in the village of Bhejripadar, which belongs to the area of the Parpa police station. When the same day of his death, as is customary, the family and those close to them undertook the funeral procession, they had to confront some activists of the Bajrang Dal (one of the Hindu nationalist movements, ed.) who, together with other villagers, they blocked the passage protesting against the burial. The Parpa police, who arrived at the scene, tried to convince both parties, but without success.
The next day, the family tried again to hold the funeral, but were again protested along the way and were in fact forced to leave the body on the road. Only then did the police call family members again and arranged for the burial to take place on the private land behind their house, amid a tense situation.
In a statement, while stating that the situation had returned to normal, the police promised that “strict legal action will be taken against those who try to disturb public order.”
