MP Christians up in arms, demand CBI probe into 'profiling' order

Wednesday April 20, 2011 07:54:11 AM, Pervez Bari, ummid.com

Bhopal: The Christian community in the Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), ruled central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh are up in arms and seething with anger over the state government's attempted move to profile them. The profiling order has been, however, withdrawn following strong reaction from the community.

Addressing a Press conference here on Tuesday Rev. Leo Cornelio, the Catholic Archbishop of Bhopal, has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation, (CBI), India's premier investigating agency, into the controversial police order on "profiling" them which was later withdrawn by the Madhya Pradesh government.

Rev. Cornelio alleged that the community members were being treated as "second grade citizens". He informed that Christians will be meeting Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on April 21 in connection with the withdrawn controversial order as it has come following statewide attacks on our community in the last seven years. He said that the religious body wanted a detailed probe by a central agency into the order as it is an "indication of more trouble in offing for Christians".

"We are being treated as the second grade citizens," he said and claimed that the Christians "are living under fear in the state".

Rev. Cornelio, who is also chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Bishops Conference, said that the community members wanted the central agency to probe the person who had issued the order, the officers' responsible for executing it and motive behind 'profiling'.

"The order came at a juncture when more than 100 attacks have taken place on Christians in the last seven years," he alleged. "Frivolous and mischievous allegations of religious conversion were being leveled against the clerics," the pontiff alleged.

It may be mentioned here that the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh had recently been in the eye of a storm over a police circular to profile Christians and churches in the state but the move was dropped following protests by members of the minority community. The controversial circular which directed all police stations in the state to profile the Christian community was withdrawn by the Police Head Quarter, (PHQ), of Bhopal. The Director General of Police (DGP) S. K. Raut has said that he "did not" issue the controversial order. The Director General of Police (Intelligence) has been probing the matter it is said.

 (pervezbari@eth.net)
 

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