Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Meghalaya Chief Minister and National People’s Party chief Conrad Sangma has raised the issue of the Kerala nuns being arrested by the Chhattisgarh administration.
He wrote to his Chhattisgarh counterpart asking for a “fair investigation” into the case of the Assisi Nuns who were arrested by the Chhattisgarh police.
In a letter to Vishnu Singh Deo, Sangma said that the nuns were allegedly framed on “false charges and pressure from right-wing groups”.
“The situation arose when the nuns were accompanying three girls from Chhattisgarh to Agra. A Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) questioned the girls, who stated they didn't have tickets and were traveling at the nuns' request.
The TTE alerted local activists, who then alleged the nuns were attempting to take the girls for forced religious conversion.
"This claim sparked a protest, and the police detained the nuns and girls based on the activists’ complaint. We believe that this is a case of harassment and false allegations. Hence, we urge you to intervene and ensure justice,” Sangma wrote.
In his letter, he has further demanded that the state government ensure a fair investigation into the matter. “Safeguard the rights of religious minorities in Chhattisgarh. Consider revoking the case lodged against the nuns,” the letter further writes.
On Friday, Sangma met several ministers in Parliament including union home minister Amit Shah, union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and union health minister JP Nadda.
He met Nadda to start the Shillong Medical College, which is ready but is waiting for a nod from the National Medical Centre. “We are the only state in India without a functional medical college. It will be grateful for the state to have the medical college functioning,” he told reporters.
He also met FM to thank her for an article on Shillong that she had written.