Mob vandalises, torches homes in Chhattisgarh village as police shield minority residents against them

A mob in Chhattisgarh's Dutkaiya village vandalized homes, prompting police to protect minority residents amid escalating violence.

A mob in Dutkaiya village of Gariaband district in Chhattisgarh on Sunday (February 1, 2026) vandalised and set on fire over half a dozen houses owned by a minority community, the police said. At least seven policemen suffered injuries while shielding over two dozen people, including women and children, against a mob of hundreds for several hours.

The communal clash was the fallout of a chain of events that began a few hours earlier when three men, one of them out on bail in a temple desecration case, allegedly assaulted locals, said the police.

Gariaband Superintendent of Police Vedvrat Sirmaur told journalists on Monday (February 2, 2026) that in 2024, Dutkaiya resident Arif Khan was placed in the Mana Juvenile Correctional Home after he and two others allegedly vandalised the Chaveshwar Shiva temple in the village. Another officer added that Mr. Khan, now 18, was granted bail the same year but never returned to the village until the early hours of Sunday (February 1, 2026), when he and two of his accomplices from Raipur allegedly assaulted four men, including at least one eyewitness of the desecration case.

A building damaged in the violence at Dutkaiya village of Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband district. | Photo Credit: Shubhomoy Sikdar

While the police registered four cases against Mr. Khan and his accomplices and assured the villagers that he would be arrested, a small mob vandalised Mr. Khan’s house in the village. A police team was then sent to the village and they counselled the villagers against any further provocation.

However, peace was short-lived and soon, a larger mob of several hundreds from Dutkaiya and adjoining villages had gathered at the spot. Armed with sticks, bricks, stones, and kerosene bottles, they allegedly tried to enter the homes of the 10 Muslim families who had locked themselves in.