A sessions court in Indore on Friday granted bail to two people who were accused by activists of the Hindu Dharm Jagran Manch last month of forcibly taking seven children to Mumbai to allegedly convert them.
Anita Francis and Amrit Kumar Mathera, who were booked by the Government Railway Police on a complaint filed by the activists, were granted bail after the court heard their case.
On October 23, the seven children were going to board a train with Francis and her 19-year-old daughter for a Bible-reading session in Mumbai when some activists reached the station and accused Francis and Mathera – who had come to to drop them off – of taking them forcibly. The activists claimed Francis and Mathera were going to take the children to Kerala and convert them.
The activists filed a complaint, and the Government Railway Police booked Francis and Mathera for allegedly kidnapping the children. The children were sent to a shelter soon after they were taken off the train.
The case reached the Madhya Pradesh High Court after the children’s parents filed a habeas corpus petition on Monday, saying they feared for the children’s safety and did not know where they were. The parents had told the court that their children were going to Mumbai with their permission. They said the police refused to release the children despite requests.
On Monday,the The bench of Justice SC Sharma and Justice Alok Verma asked the prosecution to produce the children in court and ordered their release.
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