Catholics protest in Ranchi against the arrest of Fr Stan swamy

Members of civil society, Catholics and senior Catholic priests held a silent candle light vigil and protest at the St Mary’s Church in Ranchi on Friday against the arrest of the Jesuit priest, originally from Tamil Nadu.

Fr Stan has spent over five decades in the Adivasi regions of Jharkhand and helped them raise their voice against injustice and for their rights. But although he says he has never visited Bhima Koregaon and knew nothing about the violence in 2017 there, he was arrested by NIA last week, took him to Pune and produced him in court. He was sent to jail by the court for his alleged links with Maoists.

There is shock and widespread anger in Jharkhand. There have been public protests against the arrest at several places and even the chief minister Hemant Soren has expressed his dismay.

On Friday, Archbishop Felix Toppo and Auxiliary Archbishop Theoder Maschrehans led the human chain in front of the St Mary’s Cathedral in Ranchi, said to be the biggest church in Jharkhand, in solidarity and against the arrest of the priest, Here are a few photographs