RAIPUR: A case of alleged human trafficking and religious conversion got political colour on Monday following the arrest of three, including two Catholic nuns—Sisters Preeti Marry and Vandana Francis—from Kerala in Chhattisgarh’s Durg.
The trio, taken into custody by Durg Government Railway Police (GRP) on Saturday for human trafficking and coerced religious conversion, were remanded to judicial custody by the JMFC court till August 8. They were booked under BNS Section 143 (trafficking).
Citing the incident as a serious concern for women’s safety, Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Monday wrote on X, “Three daughters of Narayanpur were promised nursing training and later jobs. It’s an attempt to convert people through human trafficking by allurement. Investigation is going on in this matter. The case is sub-judice and the law will take its own course.”
Amid the political outrage and persisting resentment, the Christian organisations seek prompt decisive action to “curb alleged religious fanaticism”.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) claimed that the nuns from the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate were arrested despite possessing written consent letters from the parents of the girls and declared to raise the issue on all appropriate forums.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on X alleged that the ‘nuns were targeted for their faith’. CM Sai, portraying Chhattisgarh as a peace-loving state where people of all religious faiths and communities live in harmony, said it’s unfortunate to politicise the issue related to the safety of daughters in Bastar and the safeguard of religious freedom. “There will be zero tolerance for negligence in such cases,” he affirmed.
The arrested accused were “caught” while accompanying three young women aged between 18 and 20 years hailing from Narayanpur district in south Bastar, after Bajrang Dal activists spotted them at the Durg railway station. The group was allegedly preparing to travel to Agra for the women’s training and employment opportunities.
Bajrang Dal members staged demonstrations at the Durg GRP police station demanding strict action against those allegedly involved in human trafficking and forced religious conversion. Meanwhile, members of the Christian community also gathered at the spot to defend the nuns.
A police officer in Durg said, “The three girls hailed from Narayanpur district (south Bastar)—two from Orchha block and one from Narayanpur town. During the preliminary investigation, we found all of them were being taken to Agra. A case has been registered against two nuns and a person from Narayanpur who accompanied them. We have informed the parents of the girls who have been temporarily shifted to Sakhi One Stop Centre in Durg.”
A preliminary investigation suggests that the women were being trapped in a carefully orchestrated web of deceit, under the guise of career advancement, the officer suspected.
