Indian police detain nuns, accuse them of trying to convert people

Published: 2006-06-28

HYDERABAD, India (CNS) -- Police detained four Missionaries of Charity nuns and accused them of attempting to convert people when the nuns visited a government-run hospital in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The nuns were on a regular visit to Ruia hospital in the town of Tirupati, a popular Hindu pilgrimage center. Police detained the nuns in the hospital June 25 and later took them to a police station, keeping them there until later that night. Christian leaders say police acted at the request of a fanatical Hindu group, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. Sister Rosaria, regional superior of the congregation founded by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, said the nuns have been visiting the hospital regularly for the past 20 years and provide medicine to poor patients who cannot afford it. However, on the evening of June 25, about 50 people, some with video cameras, approached the four nuns and accused them of trying to convert patients, Sister Rosaria said. The crowd swelled to about 300.

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