Balasore: Odisha Police have rescued a group of Christian nuns and priests, whose vehicles were stopped on a road by locals in Odisha’s Balasore district on the suspicion of conducting forced conversion, officials said Friday.
The incident took place Wednesday evening when they were returning from Gangadhar village in Basta area, they said.
“We rescued them from the group, which suspected them of carrying out forceful religious conversion. The nuns and priests were not harmed in any manner,” Basta Police Station inspector-in-charge Ranjit Sahu told PTI.
Asked if any action was taken against the persons who stopped them midway, Sahu said, “They have not lodged any written or oral complaint against anyone.”
The locals released them after being convinced that the nuns and priests had come to attend the death anniversary of a man in the village, the officer said.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India has condemned the incident, urging the Centre and state governments to take strict action against “fringe groups” involved in attacks against Christian minorities in several parts of the country.
PTI
