The Catholic Church’s official mouthpiece, Deepika Daily, has strongly criticised the BJP government over the arrest of two Kerala-based nuns in Chhattisgarh on charges of forced religious conversion and human trafficking.
In an editorial titled ‘Kanyastreekalalla, bandhi mathethara Bharanaghatana (Nuns not captive, but secular Constitution), published on Monday, the editorial alleged that the nuns were targeted as a part of a political and communal campaign aided by the BJP and the right-wing groups. The editorial said it is not the nuns, but the nation’s secular Constitution that the communalists had brought under captivity.
The editorial further alleged that a railway official, suspecting the nuns and their companions, summoned members of religious groups for questioning. “What followed was a mob trial by communal elements. Allegations of forced conversion, charges of human trafficking, and a typical charge sheet,” the editorial said.
“There is no one to stop them. With the blessings of the BJP government, the muted protests of the opposition, the limitations of the judiciary, and the silence of the minority brokers, their, or Hindutva’s, vision of the nation is being defined,” the editorial further said.
The editorial claims that as many as 4,316 incidents of violence against Christians took place during 2014-2024, the period of the BJP rule. It further alleged that despite parental consent and valid documents related to the accompanying girls, they were arrested after the railway officials questioned them. They summoned the activists, who subjected the nuns to a public trial, the editorial said, and asked, “Who taught the TTE that the Bajrang Dal is the police and the court in this land?”
Sister Vandana Francis (from Thalassery) and Sister Preethy Mary (from Angamaly) were taken into custody by police from Durg railway station on Friday, along with three accompanying girls. Reports say Bajrang Dal activists accused the nuns of forced conversion and human trafficking.