Church Leaders Decry Rising Attacks on Priests in Jharkhand and Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Odisha, June 16, 2025: Christian leaders in Jharkhand and Odisha have alleged that the rising number of robberies and assaults on priests in these two states is not random but part of a deliberate effort to undermine the Church’s mission in the region.

In one of the most recent of such incidents, five masked men broke into the vicarage of the Catholic parish in Samsera village in Jharkhand, in the early hours of June 9. The five assailants brutally assaulted the parish priest and assistant parish priest and then stole an undisclosed amount of money from a safe before fleeing. The men also attacked the principal of the school attached to the parish during the incident.

In the past two years, “churches in eastern Indian states have increasingly faced such attacks,” Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas of Daltonganj told UCA News on June 12.

The robberies follow a pattern, and the attacks on the priests are almost identical. The robbers come at midnight, assault the priest, and steal cash and other valuables, Mascarenhas said. “Robberies and attacks on priests are all pre-planned, and there is a hidden agenda to which the ruling parties are working,” he said, asking, “If not, why are such cases happening only in states where the BJP is dominant?" 

Bishop Mascharehas added that Hindu groups supporting the BJP can’t digest the work the missionaries are doing among the poor and downtrodden and the uplifting of the tribals. “They work to stop these activities, considering them actions to convert people,” he said.  

Father Ajay Kumar Singh, a social worker from Odisha’s Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese, cited at least eight similar robbery attempts since the BJP came to power in the state in June 2024. Father Singh added that in almost all the cases, the police are clueless and have not taken any concrete steps to nab the culprits. “It shows that their higher-ups do not want the cases to be solved,” he said.  

On March 21, robbers ransacked and desecrated the church in Titilagarh in the Sambalpur diocese of Odisha and stole the tabernacle containing the Holy Eucharist and money from the donation box. Months have passed since the incident, but police have yet to identify or arrest the robbers.

Father Sual Singh, another priest from the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, expressed concern that priests are being "brutally attacked even when they offer no resistance during robberies." He cited another incident that occurred in the Sambalpur diocese on May 23, when nine armed men broke into a residence of the Discalced Carmelites and violently assaulted a 90-year-old priest. The attackers violently assaulted the elderly priest, even though he posed no threat to them.

Fr Sual Singh added that robbers target priests’ parishes even though these states have houses of other religions and wealthy individuals.

Praveen Kachhap, the state general secretary of the All India Christian Minority Front in Jharkhand, expressed the growing frustration of the Christian community, saying they feel "deeply hurt and angry over the recurring attacks". He criticised the state government for its inaction and urged the police to take immediate and effective steps to stop such crimes.

Source: UCA News