Jharkhand Minority Commission Probes Harassment of Nun, Tribal Minors in Jamshedpur

JAMSHEDPUR, Sept 24, 2025: The Jharkhand State Minority Commission (JSMC) on Tuesday took suo motu cognisance of allegations that a Hindu outfit questioned a Catholic nun and 19 tribal minors for about five hours at a railway station on “suspicion of human trafficking and religious conversion,” an official confirmed.

Members of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad reportedly confronted the nun and children after they got off the South Bihar Express at Tatanagar railway station on Friday night.

JSMC vice-chairman Pranesh Solomon described the matter as “serious,” stressing the harassment of minorities by alleged right-wing groups at Tatanagar.

“We came to know about the detention of the Catholic nun and the minor boys and girls by the Railway Police through the media. We will be writing to the district commissioner, senior superintendent of police (SSP) and the Railway Police to furnish the reasons for the detention of the nun and the minors even after not finding any valid reasons for the charges labelled against them by some right-wing outfits,” Solomon said.

He added that a team would visit Jamshedpur in the last week of September to meet officials and Catholic institution representatives who had organised the skill development programme.

A minority organisation alleged that the nun and minors were held for around five hours by Bajrang Dal and VHP members through the Government Railway Police (GRP) after disembarking from the South Bihar Express on Friday night. The groups reportedly filed a written complaint with GRP Tatanagar accusing them of human trafficking and religious conversion.

Former Tribal Advisory Council member Ratan Tirkey alleged that members of the outfits circulated photos and videos of the minors without consent on social media.

Father Birender Tete, director of Samekit Jan Vikas Kendra in Sundernagar, who was present at Tatanagar station, said he persuaded railway police to release the nun and children. He explained that 16 girls and three boys from Seraikela-Kharsawan district had arrived with parental consent to attend a life skill development session.

“However, due to the ordeal faced by the minors at the Tatanagar Station we had to cancel the session as all the boys and girls were traumatised and returned home,” Father Tete said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, GRP, Jayshree Kujur, stated that investigations were ongoing but initial findings showed no conclusive evidence of religious conversion or human trafficking.

Source: Indian Express