In a disturbing incident in central India’s Chhattisgarh state, a Catholic nun and her family members were arrested on charges of offending religious feelings and promoting enmity between religions.
Newsroom(08/06/2023 19:30, Gaudium Press) Sister Bibha Kerketta, who recently took her vows as a member of the Daughters of St Anne (DSA), was apprehended by the police along with her mother, aunt, uncle, and a driver from their home in Balachapper village, Jashpur diocese.
The religious Sister, who took her vows six months ago in Ranchi (Jharkhand), is a member of the Congregation of the Daughters of Saint Anne, an Indian congregation founded in 1897 by Sister Mary Bernadette Prasad Kispotta, the first servant of God of tribal origin in India.
Father Nirmal Minj, the parish priest of the nun’s Shanti Bhavan parish, denounced the arrests, stating that they were made based on false accusations. The arrested individuals were held at the police station overnight and presented before the court the next day, June 7. While the nun’s uncle was granted bail, the others were remanded into judicial custody.
The incident occurred after a thanksgiving Mass was held at Kerketta’s home to celebrate her profession as a nun. Following the Mass and a fellowship meal, a group of about 20 men, some from nearby villages, forcibly entered the house and subjected the family to verbal abuse. The men even assaulted Kerketta’s mother and desecrated religious items such as the Bible, candle stand, and rosary. The police were subsequently called, leading to the arrest of five individuals.
Father Minj expressed his sadness over the situation, emphasizing the confusion regarding how a Mass could be portrayed as something inciting enmity between people of different faiths. Christians in Chhattisgarh have faced ongoing violence and harassment at the hands of Hindu activists, despite the state being ruled by the Congress party, which upholds India’s secular ideals.
In recent months, sectarian violence has forced over 1,000 indigenous Christians to flee their homes in the Maoist-infested Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. Christian communities have reported organized attacks, with their houses, livestock, and crops being looted. Moreover, Christians have been denied permission to bury their deceased in village cemeteries, necessitating burial in distant government or Church-owned cemeteries.
Although Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had promised action against those responsible for violence against Christians, Church leaders assert that the situation for Christians remains dire. Father John Crus Minj, the secretary to the Jashpur bishop, strongly condemned the attack on the nun, her family, and others. He intends to appeal to the state government to take immediate action to halt the harassment of Christians.
Christianity represents a minority faith in Chhattisgarh, accounting for less than 2 per cent of the state’s 30 million population, which is predominantly tribal.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCAN News
