Trafficking or conversion? 71 tribal kids stopped en route Nagpur
Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Sohan Viswakarma alleged that the children were being taken to Nagpur for conversion and demanded stern action against those involved in the incident.
In the last 24 hours, more than 70 tribal kids have been detained by police and railway authorities on the suspicion that they were being taken to Nagpur for religious conversion.
Eleven tribal children from Madhya Pradesh’s Alirajpur were stopped near Indore railway station by local police on Monday . Two of their escorts have also been arrested.
Choti Gwaltoli town inspector Sanju Kamle claimed that all the children were Hindus and were being taken for conversion.
Two cases have been registered against the children’s escorts - Harun, who is from Alirajpur and Alpesh,from Jhabua, under the MP Freedom of Religion Act Section 3,4 and also Section 363 of Indian Penal Code (punishment for kidnapping).
“Acting on a tip off, police caught 11 children and their escorts near the Indore Railway Station. When police asked Harun and Alpesh about their relationship with the children, they said that they were escorting the children to Nagpur to attend a religious ceremony,” Kamle said.
On late Sunday night, 60 tribal children from MP’s Jhabua, who were being taken to Nagpur, were also stopped in Ratlam after doubts were expressed by right wing activists about their possible “religious conversion”. The Railway protection force (RPF) also detained nine people accompanying the children.
The suspects, however, said that the children were being taken to Nagpur for a cultural function and picnic as part of a summer camp with due permission of their parents.
However, the Police were not convinced of their claim and detained them for further questioning. RPF sources said that the children also claimed that they were on their way to a picnic in the Maharashtrian city during questioning.
Police have asked the parents of the children to come over to Ratlam to shed some light on the whole episode.
Some right-wing groups continued to maintain that it was a case of religious conversion.
Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Sohan Viswakarma alleged that the children were being taken to Nagpur for conversion and demanded stern action against those involved in the incident.
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