Violence broke out in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region, specifically in Kanker district, over Christian burial rights. On Thursday, December 18, 2025, a mob vandalized a prayer hall in Bade Teoda village, Antagarh tehsil. The clashes lasted for three days. Several people, including police officers, were injured in the ongoing violence. The conflict started after Rajman Salam, the village sarpanch's father, was buried on village land on Tuesday, December 16. Rajman Salam, who says he converted to Christianity after his father's death, performed the burial according to Christian rituals. He explained in a video that village elders opposed the burial because his father did not share his faith. "I had requested village elders to allow the burial, but they insisted that it could not be carried out in my presence," said Mr. Salam. Local villagers opposed the burial because they wanted the last rites to follow tribal customs rather than Christian ones. Minor clashes occurred on Tuesday, escalating to stronger confrontations on Wednesday. Police deployed a large force to calm the situation. On Thursday morning, the body was exhumed and moved elsewhere amid police efforts to keep peace. Despite heavy police presence, angry villagers attacked the nearby prayer hall. Videos circulating online show men running with bamboo poles, arguing with police, and vandalizing the hall. Some footage shows men entering the prayer hall and causing damage. Police officials declined to comment when contacted. Burials of converts to Christianity remain a sensitive and hotly contested issue in Bastar. Earlier in 2025, a similar Supreme Court case arose when a man from Bastar sought to bury his father on his land. The court ruled for burial in a Christian graveyard elsewhere after local opposition. The court expressed regret that village authorities failed to solve the problem locally. Kanker and Bastar are two of the seven districts in the Bastar division, where such religious burial tensions persist.