By Matters India Reporter
Ratlam, Feb 18, 2020: The Sessions Court in Ratlam, a town in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, on February 19 acquitted eight Christians falsely accused of kidnapping 60 children for fraudulent religious conversion.
The court acquitted them of all charges, bringing joy among Christian groups across the country.
“Scenes of joy erupted in the Ratlam today,” said a press release from the Indian unit of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
It also said the ADF India allied lawyers successfully defended the Christians against charges of kidnap under the Indian Penal Code and charges of attempting fraudulent religious conversions under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act.
The final judgment in the case State v. Amiya Jal and Others was delivered late the afternoon, it added.
The case started on May 22, 2017, when the eight Christians escorted the children to a Bible camp in Nagpur, the winter capital of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, some 615 km southeast of Ratlam.
The railway police separated the children from the six men and two women, who accompanied them. “What followed was a tale of unspeakable harassment for the children and the accused at the hands of the authorities,” the ADF press note says.
The ADF legal team fought the case at every stage. They had to move the High Court to reunite the children with their parents. They had to persist for three months to secure the bail of the accused.
“Justice has finally been done,” said Tehmina Arora, director, ADF India, reacting to the acquittal. She also said the team should not forget the toll that such false cases take on the families. “No one should be targeted for their faith. The anti-conversion laws are tools to harass and target Christians and should be repealed since they restrict the freedom of religion guaranteed under the Constitution of India,” the lawyer activist added.
Two other Christians booked in a connected case at Indore on May 23, 2017, are now hopeful of being similarly acquitted, the ADF press note says. They are also being defended by ADF India allied lawyers.
According to the ADF India team, the courage and faith of the Christians against all odds and their confidence that the court would ultimately deliver justice is beyond commendable.
The eight adults from Ratlam, Jhabua and neighboring areas remained graceful in the face of all the disgrace that was directed against them by biased authorities who bought into a false narrative that is frequently used to target Christians, the press note says.