A funeral dispute in Raighar block of Nabarangpur district ended after 29 hours when officials and villagers agreed to bury a 70-year-old woman inside her family premises.
The deceased, Raimati Gond, lived in the Dumurimunda tribal village under the Debagaon panchayat. She passed away at 3 PM on Monday after a prolonged illness. Her family had converted to another faith, which triggered a dispute over access to the village cremation ground. Villagers refused to allow the burial at the community site, leading to tension across the area.
Hundreds of villagers staged a sit-in protest, demanding that the family either return to the Hindu faith or seek burial space from leaders of their adopted religion. The situation escalated, forcing repeated interventions by local officials. Tehsildar Manmohan Sahu, SDPO Subhendu Sabar, and police officers held multiple rounds of talks with villagers but failed to reach a consensus.
Finally, at 8:30 PM on Tuesday, after 29 hours of deadlock, authorities facilitated the burial inside the family’s courtyard. A JCB was brought to dig the site, and the funeral was conducted under police presence. Written assurances were taken from both sides to prevent future disputes.
The incident highlighted religious tensions in Dumurimunda, where six families have converted from Hinduism. The Gond family, once traditional priests of the village, faced opposition after conversion. Villagers insisted that burial rights at the cremation ground would only be restored if the family returned to Hindu practices.
