Saffron brigade roughs up nuns

“When we came out the mob assaulted us with sticks, snatched our rosaries, broke the cross and pulled our scarfs,” the nuns, aged between 26 and 40, told the police later. The mob shouting religious slogans took them to the Bhagirathpura chowky and asked the police to book them for conversion. They handed the police a copy of the Bible and some literature snatched from the nuns.

The police had a tough time protecting the nuns from the mob and finally took them to Banganga Police Station. “The Christian community should be thankful to us for saving the lives of the nuns because the mob had dangerous elements,” Banganga Station in-charge T S Baghel told The Indian Express late on Friday. He boasted that 30 anti-socials have been externed from the locality and five booked under NSA. And yet the police refused to register an FIR.

“The police told us that the meet was on and it would be better if no complaint was lodged,” said Fr Joseph Vallasheri said. When pressed, the police only agreed to take a complaint, but did not register any FIR. The community tried its best through Thursday night and throughout Friday, but in vain. It was only when Fr Anand Mutthungal, the Bhopal-based PRO of Catholics, got in touch with DGP A R Pawar late on Friday night that he ordered the Indore police to lodge an FIR.

Baghel claimed he was busy in VIP bandobast so he asked his subordinates to only take their complaint. He said FIR would be registered under Sections 427, 323, 294 and 506 of the IPC. Before the DGP’s intervention, the community had already given a call to keep its 11 educational institutions closed in Indore on Saturday. Fr Vallasheri said the educational institutions would remain closed, but the community decided to withdraw a call for dharna.

The nuns had a tough time even to get medical treatment on Thursday night as the staff said they would proceed only after FIR was registered.