J'khand minority commission takes cognisance of right-wing outfits 'questioning' nun, tribal minors

Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Sep 23 (PTI) The Jharkhand State Minority Commission (JSMC) on Tuesday took suo motu cognisance of the alleged questioning by a Hindu outfit of a nun and 19 tribal minors at a railway station for about five hours on "suspicion of human trafficking and religious conversion", an official said.

Members of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad had allegedly questioned the catholic nun and tribal children over religious conversion at Tatanagar railway station on Friday night after they deboarded the South Bihar Express.

JSMC vice-chairman Pranesh Solomon told PTI that they have taken up the "serious" issue of harassment of minorities by alleged right-wing outfits at the Tatanagar Station.

"We came to know about the detention of the Catholic nun and the minor boys and girls by the Railway Police through the media. We will be writing to the district commissioner, senior superintendent of police (SSP) and the Railway Police to furnish the reasons for the detention of the nun and the minors even after not finding any valid reasons for the charges labelled against them by some right-wing outfits," the official said.

"Our team would be visiting Jamshedpur (Tatanagar is the railway station for Jamshedpur city in East Singhbhum) in the last week of September and meeting the officials concerned and the Catholic institution officials who had organised the skill development training session," Pranesh Solomon added.

A minority outfit alleged that the Catholic nun and tribal minors were questioned for about five hours by members of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders through the GRP soon after they got down from the South Bihar Express on Friday night.

The leaders had lodged a written complaint with the GRP Tatanagar alleging human trafficking of minors and religious conversion, the outfit members claimed.

Ratan Tirkey, a former Tribal Advisory Council member, alleged that members of the right-wing outfits had circulated photos and videos of the minor tribals without their consent on social media and other platforms.

Father Birender Tete director of Samekit Jan Vikas Kendra in Sundernagar at Jamshedpur, who had been to the Tatanagar station and persuaded the railway police to release the minors and the nuns, told PTI that a total of 16 girls and three boys from different parts of Seraikela-Kharsawan district had come with consent of their parents to attend life skill development session at their centre on Saturday and Sunday.

"However, due to the ordeal faced by the minors at the Tatanagar Station we had to cancel the session as all the boys and girls were traumatised and returned home," Father Tete.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, GRP, Jayshree Kujur, said that an investigation into the case is underway, but prima facie, there has been no conclusive evidence of any religious conversion and human trafficking. PTI BS ANB SAN ACD