26 Christian families are expelled from their village in Chhattisgarh.

According to Barnabas Aid, 26 Christian families were expelled from the village of Bharanda, Chhattisgarh, on June 23, 2026, after days of rising tension. Disruptions to worship gatherings on June 14 and June 21 preceded the expulsion, driven by accusations from the majority community that the families were practicing "illicit conversion."

According to the report, police and local authorities stepped in to protect the families, who were able to return to the village — but under a restrictive condition imposed by the community: no visits from pastors, ministry workers, or other Christians from outside Bharanda. Tensions remain even after the families' return.

The case comes just months after Chhattisgarh passed a new state freedom of religion law in March 2026, which criminalizes conversions obtained through "force, fraud, or allurement" — terms broad enough to turn any change of faith in a tribal or rural community into grounds for collective suspicion.

Allowed back, but under watch

The condition imposed for the families' return — banning visits from Christian leaders outside the village — is a kind of pressure that doesn't show up in official persecution statistics, but has a deep effect: it cuts off the local Christian community from pastoral support, discipleship, or outside solidarity, leaving it more exposed to the next round of pressure (see the picture of anti-conversion laws in India in Data and Maps). It's a reminder that the expulsion in this story didn't end on the day the families were allowed to go home.

The original report does not identify specific families — and this site keeps the same discretion in reproducing the news, out of respect for the vulnerability of those already at risk.