The Kerala Catholic Bishop's Council on Friday condemned the alleged harassment of nuns in Uttar Pradesh and urged the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government to punish the offenders.
Spokesperson of Kerala Catholic Bishop's Council Fr Jacob G. Palackappilly told that the incident was shocking.
"We are shocked by the news that four sisters were forced to deboard the train while travelling from Delhi to Odisha," Jacob said.
"I am ashamed to hear that the mob and the police asked them to change their religious habit," he further said.
"The churches in India and Kerala are urging the Centre government and the Uttar Pradesh government to inspect the matter and punish the offenders," he added.
On Wednesday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging him to take action against Bajrang Dal members and police officers of Jhansi who allegedly harassed four nuns while they were travelling, by train from New Delhi to Rourkela in Odisha.
Vijayan said that the nuns were forcefully removed from the train by the Jhansi Police without the presence of women police officials and despite nuns showing the Aadhar ID cards, police did not accept those cards, stating that they are fake and kept them at the police station till late night.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had earlier condemned the incident.
"The attack in UP on nuns from Kerala is a result of the vicious propaganda run by the Sangh Parivar to pitch one community against another and trample the minorities. Time for us as a nation to introspect and take corrective steps to defeat such divisive forces," he had tweeted on Wednesday.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati had also condemned the incident and said that it is a matter of 'grave concern' that heinous crimes, especially related to the safety of women, are not stopping in Uttar Pradesh.
( With inputs from ANI )
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