Two Nuns Freed After Getting Bail in 'Trafficking' Case, Kerala MPs Celebrate Outside Jail

PTI, August 02, 2025,  Durg/Bilaspur :   Two nuns from Kerala and a co-accused arrested for alleged human trafficking and forced conversion were released from Durg Central Jail in Chhattisgarh on Saturday after a court granted them bail, ruling that the case was based on "mere suspicion."

The court also noted that the parents of the alleged victims denied that their daughters had been lured or forced to convert to Christianity by the accused.

Catholic nuns Preethy Mary and Vandana Francis were greeted outside the jail by several leaders from Kerala, including LDF MPs and Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar, along with Congress leaders, including former MLA from Durg, Arun Vora. The nuns left with Chandrashekhar in a vehicle.

Earlier, LDF MPs and some members of the Christian community were seen sharing sweets outside the jail after receiving the news of the bail order.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) posted a picture on its Facebook account, with the message: "LDF MPs John Brittas, Jose K Mani, and P Santhosh Kumar celebrate the bail order with the brother of one of the nuns outside Durg Central Jail."

Meanwhile, the alleged victims of 'trafficking' approached Narayanpur police in Chhattisgarh to lodge a complaint against Bajrang Dal activists.

In the morning, the court of Special Judge (NIA Act) Sirajuddin Qureshi at Bilaspur granted bail to the two nuns along with co-accused Sukaman Mandavi, with the condition that they surrender their passports and not leave the country. They were also required to submit a bond of Rs 50,000 each with two sureties and cooperate with the investigation, said defence lawyer Amrito Das.

"It transpires from the case diary that the registration of the FIR is primarily based on a mere apprehension and suspicion of commission of an offence by the accused. In the arrest memo, no previous record of their criminal history was annexed," the court noted.

The arrest memo also mentioned that the accused were not habitual offenders, and there was no apprehension of them absconding, the court added.

The parents of the three alleged victims filed affidavits stating that the accused had not offered any inducement to their daughters or forced them to convert. Of the three alleged victims — all adults — two told the police that they had been following Christianity since childhood, the judge pointed out.

The investigating agency did not provide material showing how custody of the accused was necessary for the probe, the order said.

Besides surrendering their passports and informing the NIA of their addresses, the applicants were instructed to report to the Station House Officer of the police station in their jurisdiction once every fortnight and make themselves available for interrogation when needed. The court also instructed them not to influence witnesses, give media interviews, or make public comments related to the case.

The trio was arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Durg railway station on July 25 following a complaint from a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who accused them of forcibly converting three girls from Narayanpur and trafficking them.

The arrest of the nuns sparked a political controversy, with the Congress and CPI(M) criticizing the police action, while Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai accused them of politicizing the issue.

Reacting to the bail, Chief Minister Sai on Saturday said, "It was a legal procedure, and bail has been granted in it."

Meanwhile, the three young women from Narayanpur, who were alleged to have been trafficked, submitted a complaint to the Superintendent of Police in Narayanpur, seeking to register an FIR against Bajrang Dal activists for allegedly assaulting them and forcing them to make false statements against the nuns.