'Criminalising prayer': Kerala CM slams arrest of Malayali priest, wife in Nagpur
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Thiruvananthapuram/Nagpur: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has strongly condemned the arrest of a Malayali Christian priest and his wife in Nagpur, Maharashtra, calling the action "deeply disturbing" and evidence of a pattern to target minorities.
The case involves Sudheer, a native of Amaravila in Thiruvananthapuram who serves as a priest with the Nagpur Mission, and his wife, Jasmine. They were arrested by the Nagpur police on Tuesday night under non-bailable sections over allegations of religious conversion.
According to reports, police detained a six-member group, including local priests, around midnight while they were attending a Christmas prayer meeting. The accused were questioned throughout the night. Police subsequently registered cases against four others who arrived to enquire about the detainees, bringing the total number of accused to 12.
Cases have also been filed against the homeowner who organised the prayer meeting and his wife.
Chief Minister Vijayan described the incident as part of a "worrying pattern followed by the Sangh Parivar to target minorities and fuel polarisation," citing a similar incident in Jabalpur recently. In November, another Kerala CSI priest, Fr. G. Godwin, faced similar charges in Jabalpur before securing bail.
Ebin Thankachan, programme associate at the Council for World Mission, termed the arrests a "grave injustice."
“Criminalising prayer, fellowship, and pastoral presence is deeply troubling,” Thankachan stated. “What we are witnessing is a systematic targeting of religious minorities through the misuse of anti-conversion laws.”
The CSI Bishops’ Council has offered full legal support to the accused. Malayil Sabu Koshy Cherian, Bishop of the CSI Madhya Kerala Mahayidavaka, noted that the mission has been serving in Nagpur for 12 years and called the arrests baseless. A delegation of priests from Kerala has reportedly departed for Nagpur to assist.
The accused are scheduled to be produced before a court at 11 am today.