New Delhi: A disturbing incident unfolded in Odisha recently that highlighted the growing religious intolerance. A 29-year old Catholic nun, Sister Rachana Nayak, was forcibly removed from a train and detained by police for 18 hours in Odisha following false accusations of religious conversions and human trafficking.
The incident occurred on Saturday night, when Sister Nayak, who is affiliated with the Holy Family Convent in Bhopal, was travelling with six companions, including two men and four women who were Christians by birth to Jharsuguda . From there, they planned to visit Chhattisgarh for vocational training. As their train reached Khurda junction, approximately 20 kms from Bhubaneshwar, a group of around 30 individuals, suspected to be Bajrang Dal members, confronted them. This group had accused Sister Nayak of forcibly converting and trafficking the young women, leading to their subsequent detention by the Government Railway Police (GRP).
Despite clarifying their intentions and presenting their documents, the group was held until Sunday evening, according to The Telegraph. Their release was secured only after the intervention of a human rights lawyer, Sujata Jena, who confirmed that these young women had been selected after a rigorous career counselling process and were all practicing Catholics.
“They had boarded the Rajya Rani Express from Berhampur on Saturday evening. One of the young men happened to be the nun’s younger brother,” Sujata Jena, one of the women lawyers, told The Telegraph.
She also added, ” Apart from religious conversions, they accused the nun of trafficking in women. The Railway Protection Force intervened and took all of them to the police station.”
Catholic Church sources in Delhi said in a report to The Telegraph that apart from written parental consent and baptism certificates, members travelling with girls had been advised to carry “a letter of admission to a senior secondary school to prove they are travelling for higher education”.
