A sessions court in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district on Wednesday disposed of the bail petitions of two Kerala nuns—Preeti Mary and Vandana Francis—who were arrested in a controversial case involving alleged religious conversion and human trafficking. The court stated that the matter falls under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act and should be transferred to an NIA court in Bilaspur.
Ravi Shankar Singh, secretary of the Durg Advocates Association, explained that the sessions judge was unavailable, so an additional district judge heard the case. “The judge ruled that he lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter as it falls under the NIA Act,” Singh said, adding that the court gave the police 15 days to initiate the process of transferring the case to the NIA court.
Defence counsel Tamaskar Tandon criticised the decision, arguing that the First Information Report (FIR) was registered without a proper investigation by the Government Railway Police (GRP). He noted that all alleged victims were adults and that no family member had lodged any complaints of trafficking or conversion. “The FIR is based on mere suspicion and is liable to be quashed,” he said, adding that they may approach the High Court for relief.
The two nuns and a tribal man, Sukaman Mandavi, were arrested on July 25 at Durg railway station after a Bajrang Dal activist accused them of forcibly converting and trafficking three tribal women from Narayanpur district.
On Wednesday, senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat visited the nuns at Durg Central Jail and slammed the arrests as “unconstitutional and illegal,” calling them part of a broader campaign against Christians. “This is a fabricated case. The nuns were arrested and jailed to advance a political agenda,” Karat said. She added that the women were ill and being made to sleep on the floor without basic care.
Karat also alleged that Bajrang Dal members had assaulted the women in police presence and coerced them into changing their statements. “There is no rule of law, only the rule of goons,” she said, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the FIR and release of the accused.
A delegation from Kerala’s UDF alliance had earlier met the nuns and later met Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, who promised a thorough investigation. Sai, however, maintained that the incident involved the safety of three young women, allegedly promised nursing jobs and taken to Agra under suspicious circumstances.
The case continues to draw sharp political reactions, highlighting the tensions surrounding religious freedom, minority rights, and law enforcement in the region.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)