New Delhi | Congress general secretary K C Venugopal on Tuesday separately wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, urging them to take necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the "fabricated case" against two Catholic nuns from Kerala who are accused of human trafficking and forced conversion.
In his letters to Shah and Sai, Venugopal also demanded that strict legal proceedings be initiated against those who physically attacked the nuns and the tribal women.
Two nuns from Kerala and another person, accused of human trafficking and forced conversion, were released from the Durg Central Jail in Chhattisgarh on Saturday after a court granted them bail, holding that the case was based on "mere suspicion".
Leaders of the Congress and the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala welcomed the news and accused the BJP of ignoring the atrocities against minorities in the states ruled by it while championing their cause in the southern state.
In his letter to Shah, Venugopal said the arrest of the nuns and the events leading up to it represent a gross misuse of state power, driven not by law but by communal prejudice and political malice.
"The arrest stemmed from an entirely baseless FIR filed by a Bajrang Dal-affiliated individual, who fabricated allegations against the nuns based on vague 'apprehensions'. Far from being victims of trafficking or conversion, they were assaulted and coerced by Bajrang Dal members to give false statements implicating the nuns," the MP from Kerala's Alappuzha said.
"Despite repeated complaints from the nuns and tribal women about manhandling, coercion, and mistreatment, the police have failed to register an FIR against the actual perpetrators. This blatant inaction reflects the disturbing bias, double standards, and extreme one-sidedness in what is clearly a politically motivated case of misrepresentation and harassment," Venugopal said.
The conditional bail granted to the accused after eight days of unjust incarceration following sustained protests by the opposition and the public, including the Christian community, is an indictment of the injustice they were subjected to, he alleged.
"I urge you to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of this fabricated case in a time-bound manner, ensuring that the investigation reflects the truth and upholds constitutional values. At the same time, I also demand that strict legal proceedings be initiated against those who physically attacked the nuns and the tribal women. An FIR must be filed based on their statements," Venugopal said in his letter to Shah.
The impunity enjoyed by such vigilante elements must be decisively ended if the rule of law and constitutional order are to be upheld, he said.
Venugopal made similar demands in his letter to Vishnu Deo Sai.
Earlier in the day, United Democratic Front (UDF) MPs held a protest in the Parliament House complex, demanding that the cases in Chhattisgarh against the Catholic nuns be dropped and the "Bajrang Dal goons who attacked the nuns" and the ladies be prosecuted for their hate crimes.
Catholic nuns Preethy Mary and Vandana Francis and another person were arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at the Durg railway station on July 25, following a complaint from a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who accused them of forcibly converting three girls from Narayanpur and trafficking them.
The arrest sparked off a political slugfest with the Congress and CPI(M) criticising the police action and Sai accusing them of politicising the issue.