Chhattisgarh Court grants bail to two nuns in trafficking, conversion case

Bilaspur, Aug 2: A special court in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district on Saturday granted bail to two Kerala-based Catholic nuns and another individual arrested in a case related to alleged human trafficking and forced religious conversion.

Principal District and Sessions Judge (NIA court) Sirajuddin Qureshi, who had reserved the order on Friday, granted the trio bail with strict conditions, said defence counsel Amrito Das. Each of the accused was ordered to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 along with two sureties.

As part of the bail conditions, the accused are barred from leaving the country and must surrender their passports. They are also required to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation. Das added that additional conditions have been imposed, though the complete bail order is still awaited.

The arrested individuals — Sisters Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis from Kerala, along with Sukaman Mandavi — were apprehended by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Durg railway station on July 25. The arrest followed a complaint lodged by a Bajrang Dal member, who alleged that the group was involved in forcibly converting three tribal women from Narayanpur district and trafficking them.

The arrests sparked political backlash, with opposition parties including the Congress and CPI(M) condemning the police action. Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai accused these parties of politicising the matter.

Reacting to the development, the chief minister said, "It was a legal procedure and bail has been granted in it."

Following the bail hearing on Friday, Das had said that the prosecution had not asked for the trio's custody for interrogation, and the alleged victims had been sent back to their homes.

Talking to reporters, public prosecutor Dauram Chandravanshi also confirmed that bail has been granted to the nuns and one other person, with certain conditions.

Meanwhile, the three alleged victim women in the case arrived at the office of the Superintendent of Police in Narayanpur district headquarters seeking to lodge an FIR against Bajrang Dal activists for allegedly assaulting them and forcing them to give false statements against nuns before the Durg GRP.

Earlier, on August 1 Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma wrote to his Chhattisgarh counterpart Vishnu Deo Sai, urging the state government to ensure a fair and impartial investigation and to consider revoking charges against two Catholic nuns from Kerala who were arrested last week on allegations of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.

In his letter, Sangma expressed deep concern over the arrest of Sister Vandana Francis and Sister Preethy Mary, both of whom are associated with Fatima Hospital in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.

PTI