Daijiworld Media Network - Jhansi

Jhansi, Mar 23: During a rail journey, two Catholic nuns in northern India were forced to change out of their religious habits and wear civilian clothes to protect themselves and two postulants with them from possible attacks by right-wing Hindu activists.

The nuns were accused of taking the postulants to convert them, and were taken to a railway police station the day before where they were interrogated for hours. However, upon finding the accusations were baseless, they were released late on the same day after five hours of intense questioning following intervention from senior police and Church officials.

“Our sisters and the postulants were on their way to Rourkela," in the eastern state of Odisha, said Sr Usha Maria, Delhi provincial of the Sacred Heart Congregation (SH). The nuns were traveling "to drop the postulants off at their homes at the start of their summer holiday,” Sr Maria said.

The two nuns along with the two postulants were on their way to Odisha. As they reached Jhansi station in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, several Hindu youths questioned the nuns, asking if they were Christians and asked about the postulants who were in civilian clothes.Despite telling them that the postulants were Christians since birth, but the Hindu activists accused the nuns of taking the postulants for religious conversion. The youths then began causing a commotion and as the train reached Jhansi station at 6.30 pm some 150 youths gathered and accused the nuns of violating the state’s anti-conversion law.

Then the nuns were asked to accompany a police officer who was called to the scene even though they had valid documents. Despite their protests, the policeman demanded they go to the local railway police station and forced them out of their compartment, Sister Maria said. As they disembarked from the train the Hindu youths shouted abuse against them, she added.