By Matters India Reporter
INDORE, April 9, 2026: Bishop Thomas Mathew Kuttimackal of Indore expressed relief after police briefly detained 10 members of a Syro-Malabar religious congregation at a railway station in central India following an allegation of human trafficking.
“It could have turned out to be much worse, but we are grateful to God that it was resolved,” Bishop Kuttimackal told Catholic Connect, which first reported the release.
The incident occurred April 7 at Indore Junction railway station in Madhya Pradesh. The group included two sisters from the Sisters of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and eight candidates discerning their vocation. They were preparing to board a train to Odisha to spend holidays with their families.
Police detained the party upon arrival, citing information alleging human trafficking -— a non-bailable offense in India that carries a potential 10-year prison sentence. The group managed to alert Church authorities and relatives during the interrogation.
“Some of the Fathers in the diocese, including the procurator, were contacted and they, in turn, reached out to higher railway police officials,” Bishop Kuttimackal said in a message to his priests and religious. The candidates missed their train, but the bishop said swift intervention prevented escalation.
He compared the episode to a July 2025 case in Durg, Chhattisgarh, where two nuns from another Syro-Malabar congregation were arrested after being accused of trafficking and forced religious conversion. That case drew national attention and the nuns were released on bail weeks later.
Nuns wearing their religious habits when traveling in states governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, are considered vulnerable to false allegations.
The detention of nuns remains politically sensitive for the BJP, which has sought to expand its influence in Kerala, home to large Syro-Malabar Catholic populations. Opposition parties have used such incidents to portray the BJP as hostile to religious minorities.
Bishop Kuttimackal acknowledged the toll such episodes take on clergy and candidates. “We may be proved innocent later, but the loss of time, money, and peace of mind remains,” he said.
In a message to his diocese, the bishop urged Catholics to exercise prudence when traveling, noting that their movements may be monitored.
The Syro-Malabar Church, with about five million members worldwide, is the largest Eastern Catholic Church in communion with Rome after the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. While concentrated and based in Kerala, its congregations operate across India, including Madhya Pradesh, where Christians make up less than 1% of the population.
Madhya Pradesh, ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP, has seen rising reports of persecution and attacks against Christians.
(Photo by vcvirus007 / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license)
Such zealous vigilantism is doing no good to the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh or anywhere else, especially during this month when elections are held.