News Brief
Nun, 19 Children Questioned For Hours In Jharkhand After Bajrang Dal Flags Conversion Suspicion
Representative image (via Getty Images)
Authorities at Jharkhand’s Tata Nagar railway station questioned a Catholic nun and 19 Adivasi minors for nearly five hours late Friday (19 September) after Bajrang Dal workers alleged they were being taken for religious conversion, reported The Indian Express.
Investigators and Child Helpline officials have so far found no substance in the claims.
The group, which included four boys and 15 girls, had boarded the South Bihar Express for Jamshedpur to attend a two-day life-skills program.
The nun, who works on adolescent awareness projects in tribal villages of Saraikela-Kharsawan, said two men followed them during the journey. “They followed us, and at one point, the TTE quietly asked me where I was taking them. Later, a huge mob gathered, as if I were a criminal,” she recounted.
She said she showed letters of consent from guardians and village chiefs. Some children had no Aadhaar cards as they joined last minute. In fear, she called program director and priest Birendra Tete, who alleged, “I reached the station and saw the minors sitting on platforms, with no female police staff. All of them were surrounded by Bajrang Dal members, who were taking pictures of the minor girls.”
DSP Jayshree Kujur said, “As of now, no confirmed religious conversion has taken place. The investigation is continuing.” Bajrang Dal leader Arun Singh defended taking photos as “collecting evidence.”
The minors later attended the training program before returning home.
The Jharkhand episode comes weeks after an NIA court in Chhattisgarh granted bail to two Kerala nuns arrested on conversion and trafficking charges.
