Backlash over Nagpur conversion arrests

Church leaders complain of breach of constitutional rights

- HD Bureau

Arrests of a priest from Kerala, his wife and ten others in Nagpur on allegations of forced religious conversion have triggered a wave of protests, sharp political exchanges and renewed debate over the application of anti-conversion laws, with church bodies and civil liberties groups questioning the basis and manner of the police action.

The group was taken into custody in Maharashtra's Nagpur district under pro visions of the state's anticonversion legislation, which criminalises conversions carried out through coercion, inducement or fraudulent means. Police sources in Nagpur have maintained that the arrests followed com pl aints from local residents and preliminary inquiries sug gesting violations of the law.

The accused have denied the allegations, and legal pr oceedings are under way.