Thalassery Archbishop says Amit Shah’s directive not to oppose nuns bail disregarded by Chhattisgarh govt

Kannur, Kerala: Thalassery Archbishop Joseph Pamplany stated on Friday that the Chhattisgarh government opposed the bail application of two nuns jailed on charges of human trafficking and forced conversion, against the direction of the Centre and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

On the other hand, BJP's Kerala state vice president Shone George, who is in Chhattisgarh, claimed that the prosecution opposed the plea on technical grounds -- that the case was in the initial stage of probe -- and it would not affect the nuns' chances of getting bail.

"The prosecution did not oppose the bail plea on merits," he told reporters.

Speaking along similar lines, BJP state general secretary Anoop Antony, who is also in Chhattisgarh, said that there was no objection from the side of the prosecution.

After hearing of the case, public prosecutor Dauram Chandravanshi told reporters that "the prosecution opposed the bail plea, submitting that the case is in its initial stage of investigation. The court has reserved its order till tomorrow (Saturday) after hearing both the parties".

Terming the development as "unfortunate and condemnable", Pamplany, an Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, said that "when justice is denied in this manner", there is no other option but to protest on the streets.

He made the remark while leading a protest at Thalassery. The Archbishop further said that the church was against forced conversions. "But simply repeating that it was a forced conversion, would not make it so," he added.

Pamplany also said that it was the church's view that "laws which permit mobs, extremists and anti-social elements to harass minorities should be withdrawn", an apparent reference to the anti-conversion law prevalent in Chhattisgarh.

He further said the time has long passed for intervention in the matter by the central government.

With PTI inputs