KOCHI: A journey to help three young girls from underprivileged families gain a livelihood turned nightmare for two nuns of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate on Saturday, when they were arrested by the Chhattisgarh police. Sr Vandana of Udayagiri in Kannur and Sr Preethy Mary of Angamaly have been charged with forced religious conversion and human trafficking.
Jins Mathew, the younger brother of Sr Vandana, rubbished the allegations. “Why convert a person who is a Christian? The girls hail from Pentecost families,” he told TNIE. “The families of the girls converted to Pentecostalism a long time back.
Also, they carried permission letters from their parents, the copies of which were with the nuns. In fact, the parents had approached the convent seeking employment for the girls after coming to know that Fatima Hospital in Agra, where the nuns, worked needed staff,” said Jins.
He said the nuns, who had been working in underprivileged areas of North India for years, knew about the dangers of travelling with young native girls. “Hence, they insisted on all the documents, including letters from the parents. Sr Vandana and Sr Preethy travelled to Durg from Agra just to accompany the girls as the journey was long and this was their first time travelling outside their village,” he added.
He also expressed suspicion over the events leading up to the arrest of the nuns. “The train ticket examiner (TTE), who is said to be a Bajrang Dal sympathiser, manipulated the girls into waiting for the nuns at the railway police’s office at Durg station. When the nuns came, they were assured that all they had to do was show the tickets and take the girls to board the train. However, when they entered the office, everything, including the police’s demeanour, changed. Their phones were confiscated and they were detained,” alleged Jins.
These are harrowing days for the families of Sr Vandana and Sr Preethy. Baiju M V, the younger brother of Sr Preethy, said in the 32 years she has worked in North India, this was the first time she had to face such a situation. “She is the eldest of seven siblings. She has always cared for the underprivileged.
Whenever she leaves home after a visit, she carries big bundles of food, clothes and other items back. She visited home in May and this time too, took a lot of things back,” said Baiju. Both Sr Vandana and Sr Preethy have younger sisters who are also nuns with the congregation. “It has been 38 years since Sr Vandana donned the nun’s habit. She is the fourth child among eight in my family,” said Jins, who is planning to go to Chhattisgarh.