Parliamentarian demands release of bishop, others jailed in “fee scam”

By Matters India Reporter

New Delhi, July 4, 2024: A Christian Member of Parliament in India has sought the federal government’s intervention in securing the release of a Protestant bishop, a Catholic priest and several others imprisoned for more than a month in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Jose K Mani, a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, in a July 2 letter urged George Kurian, minister of state for minority affairs, to get the Christians released immediately.

Mani noted that they have been languishing in prison since May 27 for no fault as they were never involved in any illegal activity or have no criminal records.

Police in Jabalpur district on May 27 arrested Bishop Ajay Umesh Kumar James of Jabalpur diocese of the Church of North India (CNI) along with principals of five Church-managed schools and two pastors for allegedly charging “exorbitant fees” from students in their schools.

The same day the police also arrested Father Abraham Thazhathedathu, priest of the Jabalpur Catholic diocese, a woman school principal and others from two Catholic schools.

As many as 22 among 51 people named in the First Information Report (FIR) are in prison in the alleged exorbitant fee scam. They included some book publishers who, in connivance with the school management, had allegedly charged exorbitant prices for books they supplied to the schools.

The police action was restricted to only 11 schools – seven of them reputed and managed by Christians. The district has 1,037 registered private schools.

“Our people were arrested and jailed like hard core criminals,” laments Father Davis George, Jabalpur vicar general.

“Even if there is any difference in the fees or mistakes in the account book, the official concerned should have served a notice on us and sought explanation instead of putting them in jail,” the priest told Matters India on July 4.

He suspects the police action may be part of “some conspiracy” to target the Church’s reputed schools.

“This kind of action is a mockery of democracy,” asserted Father George and added, “We have already filed bail applications for our people in the high court, but the hearing is getting delayed.”

The priest also expressed confidence that the state’s high court would release them.

A CNI official who did not want to be named told Matters India on July 4, “It seemed to be a well planned targeted attack on our schools that were doing a great service to the society for decades.”

District collector Deepak Saxena, who ordered the police action, justified it saying the drive against the 11 schools was just the beginning of a major crackdown against private schools that charge excessive fees. The collector also admitted that many schools in the district flout the norms.

The law says an annual fee hike above 10 percent needs the collector’s approval nod and for a 15 percent hike the schools need the sanction from a state-level committee.

However, a private school is free to hike fees up to 5 percent on its own. If the rise exceeds that cap, it must inform the district administration.

Christian institutions in Madhya Pradesh such as schools, hostels and orphanages have in the past witnessed police cases mainly for alleged violation of the state’s stringent anti-conversion law that criminalizes religious conversion.

Bishop Emeritus Gerald Almeida of Jabalpur, his priests and nuns were the victims the alleged targeted in the state, ruled by Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Christians make up less than 1 percent of Madhya Pradesh’s 72 million people, a majority of them Hindus.