Shillong/Bhubaneswar: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has written to his Odisha counterpart expressing concern over reports of an incident in which a pastor was allegedly assaulted and publicly humiliated by a mob earlier this month.
In his letter to Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, Sangma said India’s strength lies in its constitutional values where faith is a matter of individual conscience and disputes must be addressed strictly through lawful means.
He said incidents of mob violence in a peaceful state like Odisha are deeply distressing for citizens across the country, and more so for people of the Christian faith who believe in living with dignity and self-respect.
“Mob violence cannot be allowed to replace the rule of law. Targeting persons for their faith corrodes the plural social fabric that is essential to our constitutional order,” the Chief Minister said.
He further said acts of extremism cannot be allowed to substitute due process as they risk creating fear and mistrust among communities.
“I trust your leadership will ensure that Odisha continues to uphold justice and the rule of law,” Sangma said in the letter.
A pastor was assaulted, paraded with a garland of shoes and forced to eat cow dung on suspicion of religious conversion in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district January 4.
PTI