A Catholic nun and four girls accompanying her were on June 13 forced out of a train in the central Indian State of Madhya Pradesh.
Government Railway Police detained them at Satna station in the state after rightwing Hindu groups accused Sister Bina Joseph of indulging in illegal religious conversion.
The group was traveling on Shipra Express to Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh capital, from the eastern Indian State of Jharkhand.
“As our train reached the station, police personnel forced us out and then detained saying the girls were being taken for religious conversion,” Sister Joseph told Matters India over phone from police station.
The nun and the girls were held up in the police station at the time of filing this report at 11:40 pm on June 13 almost 12-hours after their detention. The police personnel also recorded their statements before a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) who reportedly ordered their release.
Confirming their detention, Satna GRP Police station in-charge S.R.Bagri told media persons, “The police personnel carried out a search in the Shipra Express in which they were travelling following complaint from Bajrang Dal activists.”
