INDIA
UCA nEWS
Saji Thomas, Bhopal
India July 12, 2017
Christian leaders say that a Catholic priest arrested for abusing a child in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has been framed to malign the Christian community in the state ruled by a pro-Hindu party.
Police July 10 arrested Father Leo D’Souza, 56, following a complaint from the parents of an eighth-grade boy of the church-run Amar Jyoti School in the tribal-dominated district of Dindori.
The priest is manager of the school run by Jabalpur Diocese.
The parents in their complaint said the priest summoned the boy to his room July 9 evening and tried to abuse him.
Local church leaders say police arrested the priest even without a preliminary investigation. They say it was an attempt to tarnish the image of Christians that run the school ranked among the three best in the district.
Bishop Gerald Almeida of Jabalpur said the accusation and the arrest has “shocked” the diocese. He said hard-line Hindu groups had earlier tried to create trouble for Christians accusing them of converting tribal people to Christianity.
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