Religious Conversion Row: Police Intervene To Bury Body In Odisha’s Malkangiri

Malkangiri: Tension prevailed at a tribal-dominated village in Malkangiri district over the burial of an elderly man as he had converted to another religion.

According to reports, a section of villagers at Duduguda in Chalanguda panchayat area opposed the family of Pandu Madkami (70) from performing his last rites at the village burial ground. This led to a heated argument between the bereaved family members and the villagers.

The villagers objected to Pandu being buried because he had allegedly converted to another religion a few years ago.

On being informed, local police and Malkangiri Tehsildar Gunanidhi Naik rushed to the village and tried to pacify the situation. However, the deadlock persisted till the next morning.

Eventually, police took suo motu action and took the help of a JCB machine to bury Pandu’s body in the presence of an executive magistrate.

A police force has been deployed at the village to prevent any untoward situation.

Later, Pandu’s granddaughter told the media, “My grandfather died on December 1. As we have converted to another religion, the villagers prevented us from going to the burial ground to bury my grandfather. Though the sarpanch suggested that we could instead bury him in our own farm land, the villagers even objected to it. They also threatened to take drastic action against us.”