Mizoram Home Minister Writes To MP Counterpart in Missionaries’ Arrest Case

Aizawl, Sep 19 : Mizoram Home Minister R Lalzirliana has written to his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Babulal Gaur asking the latter to personally intervene for the five Christian missionaries from Mizoram who were released on bail Tuesday evening after being kept in judicial custody at Khargone for four days and nights for allegedly offering money to Hindus to convert.

In his letter, R Lalzirliana asked the five men be “acquitted and released” as they still face cases against them and that “appropriate corrective action” be served against “the person who lodged the false report for justice’s sake”.

“I have been informed that these missionaries were arrested subsequent to an FIR, lodged by one local resident, accusing [them] of practicing proselytism by offering a sum of Rs 1 lakh to Hindus in an attempt to convert them to Christianity,” the Mizoram Home Minister wrote.

“I was shocked with disbelief on hearing the allegation as I would confidently vouch that the complaints are false and baseless. Christians…are never taught to resort to using any form of material or financial incentives in their mission works and I assure you that missionaries would not use such form of enticement or allure even in the future,” he added.

The five men and the families of two of them have been moved from Sanawad, near where they were arrested, to a Christian compound at Kanapur.