Protests over the arrest of two Keralite nuns on charges of kidnapping, human trafficking, and forced conversion in Chhattisgarh intensified in Kerala for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday.
A massive protest march was held in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday against the arrest and imprisonment of two Keralite nuns in Chhattisgarh.
Hundreds of church members, including priests, participated in the protest march, organized by the Thiruvananthapuram Catholic Forum, from Palayam Martyrs Square to Raj Bhavan.
The march was led by Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Conference (KCBC) President Cardinal Mar Baselios Cleemis. Archbishop Thomas J. Netto, Archbishop Mar Thomas Tharayil, Bishop Christudas, and other church leaders participated in the rally, covering their mouths with black cloth.
Meanwhile, a sessions court in Durg, Chhattisgarh, on Wednesday disposed of the bail application of the arrested nuns, observing that it does not have the jurisdiction to hear cases under Section 143 of BNS (human trafficking). The court added that they may have to move to an NIA court for further legal action.
The arrest of two nuns on charges of human trafficking and kidnapping for forced religious conversion at the Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh on Friday has drawn sharp criticism from Church leaders and also the ruling front and the Opposition in Kerala.
Two nuns from Kerala, Preetha Mary and Vandana Francis from the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate under the Syro-Malabar Church, who were accompanying three girls, were arrested by the Chhattisgarh police at Durg railway station on Friday. They were charged with forced religious conversion and human trafficking.