Senior Christian Priest Accused Of Conversions, Land Grabbing, Abetting Suicide And More, Arrested in Assam

Father Steven Mavely is not new to controversies. And he does not have quite a few admirers possibly, even among his fellow Catholics.

Mavely, who is the Vice-Chancellor of Don Bosco College in Sonapur in the vicinity of Guwahati, was before this week for abetting the of an entrepreneur George Bordoloi.

That induced a flood of accusations, especially of land grabbing and conversions, towards Mavely.

The Assam government has now launched a into the land grabbing allegations against the senior priest. A three-member panel headed by state additional main secretary Paban Barthakur and comprising profits commissioner G.D.Tripathy and Kamrup Metro deputy commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha has been constituted to probe the land grabbing allegations.

In accordance to regional citizens of Sonapur, the Don Bosco university less than Mavely has allegedly grabbed more than 800 bighas (about 265 acres) of land, mostly falling below the . Mavely has allegedly made many facilities in this encroached land.

Just one portion of the encroached land was aspect of an elephant corridor and Mavely manufactured some structures, consequently blocking the movement of elephants. This has resulted in herds of elephants attacking close by villages and destroying crops.

The point out forest division had just lately conducted a study by deploying drones. The photographs and movies taken by the drones unveiled that the Don Bosco University experienced prolonged its boundary substantially past what was allotted to it.

The drone study also discovered illegal slicing of hills inside of the campus. Permissions and licences are needed to lower even a part of a hillock in Assam. Mavely allegedly did not hassle to acquire any these authorization.

What is far more, the survey revealed the existence of a dam that experienced made a waterbody measuring 384 square meters. This dam was blocking the normal drinking water channel from the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary and the Don Bosco College authorities have been accused of diverting drinking water from the reservoir developed illegally by erecting the dam.

The forest office lodged an FIR with the Sonapur law enforcement from the college authorities on May 7 for encroachment and building of long lasting buildings in an eco-delicate zone. The probe panel constituted by the condition federal government has been asked to propose ways to consider back the land encroached upon by the varsity and to mitigate the destruction caused by development of long term buildings by the university.

Mavely was the principal of St. Anthony’s Faculty in Shillong in the early to mid 1980s. And many of all those who ended up pupils of the school in the course of those people years really don’t have pleased memories of Mavely. In point, he was not appreciated by most and unlike some of his predecessors and successors, was not a broadly-highly regarded principal.

Some previous college students of the school advised Swarajya that Mavely was whimsical and vengeful. He experienced allegedly taken really potent disciplinary actions towards many pupils, which include rustication from university, for even minimal offences.

Mavely was also not preferred among the Catholic local community in Shillong. He was reportedly imperious, large-handed and compared with other monks, hardly ever mingled a great deal with the area Catholics.

But Mavely knew how to impress his seniors in the (Salesians of Don Bosco, or SDB) get. Also, he is a great and efficient administrator. And that is why his rise in the SDB hierarchy has been outstanding.

But Mavely has also been accused of luring folks to transform to Christianity. In accordance to some area Hindu organisations, Mavely has been enticing very poor individuals with economical and product support, and with claims of free schooling in Christian establishments as perfectly as careers in the Don Bosco University.

The Assam authorities, it is learnt, is most likely to constitute an additional panel to probe into the allegations of conversion versus Mavely.

The fast cause for motion against Mavely was the suicide of George Bordoloi who pioneered the dhaba business enterprise in Assam. Bordoloi is credited to be the to start with to established up dhabas along the highways in Assam and also the first vacation resort in Sonapur.

Mavely accused Bordoloi and his son of encroaching on land belonging to the college and destroying rubber and coconut trees inside the campus. Mavely submitted a police criticism against them.

Not able to face up to the harassment by Mavely, George committed suicide previously this 7 days. In his suicide note, he named Mavely as staying dependable for his death.

Mavely obtained bail Thursday (26 May well). But his woes might have just started off.

Also Read: Why Anthony de Mello Is Significant For Indian Christianity