Police break bible-smuggling racket

Kerala : Indian police say they have broken a bible-smuggling racket that has been selling copies of the book on the black market.

Police arrested and charged Selva Raj, 36, on Nov. 23 following a complaint from the Kerala Catholic Bishop’s Council (KCBC). The council had been tipped off by Church people that the bible KCBC was selling for 100 rupees (US$2.15) was available on the streets for 70 rupees.

But Raj, who had 30 bibles on him, was “only a salesman who may be getting 10 rupees a copy,”  senior police official Vinson Paul said. “He is only the end of long chain” in which hundreds may be involved, he added.

Police suspect the racket has been going on for years and that some of the printer’s employees were involved. “The investigation is progressing,” Paul said.

The bishops have a standing contract with Divine Printing Press to print copies of the Malayalam-language bible. Each print order is for a minimum of 100,000 copies, and some years they had ordered two extra print-runs.

The press is owned and managed by Divine Retreat Center, run by Vincentian priests. KCBC spokesman Father Stephen Alathara said he suspects some managers and workers helped print more copies and smuggle them out.

The KCBC Bible Commission, headed by Bishop George Punnakottil of Kothamangalam, has been campaigning to make the Bible available in every Catholic family.

He said the Church has no means to identify the smuggled bibles because they and the official ones look the same in every respect.