India — Christian Worship Disrupted and Congregants Locked Inside Church

28 January 2026, Kapena village, Nabarangpur district, Odisha, India — Members of the Christian community in Kapena village were reportedly harassed and forced to stop their prayer service by a group of miscreants, who allegedly locked about 30 tribal Christians inside their church and prevented them from conducting prayers. Witnesses said the alleged attackers used loudspeakers to threaten that the church would be demolished and that Christian families should leave the village if they continued worship. Two youths from the community were reportedly assaulted during the incident. The matter was reported to local police, who stated tensions existed between community groups and deployed personnel to maintain order. A peace committee was formed, and authorities gave time for relocating the prayer hall to reduce conflict.