Agartala/Shillong, Aug 2 (IANS) After Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, Tipra Motha Party (TMP) supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, on Saturday, urged Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai to ensure fair justice to two Catholic nuns, who were arrested on July 25 at the Durg railway station in the state.
The TMP is an ally of the BJP government in Tripura.
Nuns Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis from Kerala, along with an individual named Sukaman Mandavi, were arrested at the Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh on July 25, following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who accused them of “forcibly converting” three girls from Narayanpur and “trafficking” them.
The TMP Chief in a post on social media platform X said that he met the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister in the Parliament on Friday, and on Saturday wrote to him regarding the “unfortunate incident involving the two nuns in his state”.
“We live in a society where groups cannot target people without evidence and the rule of law and Constitution is supreme,” said Debbarma, a former royal scion of Tripura.
In his letter, the TMP Chief said that based on the statements from the BJP Kerala unit there is strong reason to believe that this may be a case of harassment and false accusations.
Requesting the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister to take cognisance of this issue and ensure a thorough, free and fair investigation into the matter, Debbarma said: “It is imperative that those who serve society selflessly, especially individuals belonging to the Christian minority communities, are not made to suffer due to misinformation or prejudice.”
“We trust that your office will treat this matter with the seriousness it deserves and ensure that justice is served,” he added.
Earlier, the Meghalaya Chief Minister wrote to his Chhattisgarh counterpart urging the latter to ensure a fair probe and consider revoking charges against the two nuns from Kerala.
Chief Minister Sangma expressed concern over the arrest of Sister Vandana Francis and Sister Preethi Mary, both affiliated with Fatima Hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra.
The nuns have been reportedly booked under Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968 (forced conversion) and Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (trafficking).
Meghalaya Chief Minister also requested Chhattisgarh CM Sai that the charges be reviewed and revoked against the two nuns.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) has already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking their intervention in the matter, CM Sangma said in his letter to CM Sai.
In Mizoram, State Congress President Lal Thanzara criticised Chief Minister Lalduhoma and two MPs — K Vanlalvena and Richard Vanlalhmangaiha — for their “silence” on the arrest of two nuns from Kerala in Chhattisgarh.
Thanzara said in Aizawl on Friday that senior Congress leaders, including party General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal, party’s Lok Sabha member from Meghalaya Saleng A. Sangma and party MP from Kerala’s Wayanad Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, have protested against the “arbitrary” arrest and extended their solidarity to the nuns.
–IANS
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