RAIPUR/KOCHI: The nuns, arrested on charges of forced conversion and human trafficking from Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh, will have to remain in jail after the Sessions Court refused to hear the bail plea. Session Judge Aneesh Dubey said the case fell outside the court’s jurisdiction. The matter will now be heard by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Bilaspur.
According to the members of the LDF, UDF, and BJP delegations, the court has stated that the nuns will have to approach a special court for relief.
Sr Preethi Mary and Sr Vandana Francis, along with Sukaman Mandavi, were arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at the Durg railway station on July 25 following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who accused them of forcibly converting three women from the state’s tribal-dominated Narayanpur district and trafficking them.
According to the GRP, the group was allegedly preparing to travel to Agra where the three young women were to be trained and later employed. The nuns, booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 143 (trafficking) and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968, (unlawful religious conversions), were remanded in judicial custody till August 8.
Kottayam MP Francis George told TNIE, “The things that happened on Wednesday were quite unexpected. As soon as the bail application was moved, the Sessions judge said that the plea could not be heard since it didn’t have the power to hear human trafficking cases.” The matter got complicated as Narayanpur and surrounding areas are Naxal-infested. “Since human trafficking cases are prevalent in these areas, laws have been made in such a way that they come under the purview of NIA,” he said.
Meanwhile, the delegation led by the CPM, CPI, and Kerala Congress (M) condemned the targeted attack on Christian and Adivasi communities in Chhattisgarh. The delegation met the nuns on Wednesday. CPM leader Brinda Karat termed the arrest ‘unconstitutional and illegal’, and demanded their immediate release. “The nuns have been jailed as part of a malicious agenda of the BJP and the Chhattisgarh government. This is a targeted attack on Christians in the country,” she claimed. The delegation condemned the free hand given to Bajrang Dal activists who intimidated the nuns in front of the police.
However, Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma defended the police, saying, “Such incidents (human trafficking and coercive conversions) have been reported from Narayanpur earlier also. So the issue should be investigated. The FIR has substantial grounds.”
Kottayam MP Francis George told TNIE, “The things that happened on Wednesday were quite unexpected. As soon as the bail application was moved, the Sessions judge said that the plea could not be heard since it didn’t have the power to hear human trafficking cases.” The matter got complicated as Narayanpur and surrounding areas are Naxal-infested. “Since human trafficking cases are prevalent in these areas, laws have been made in such a way that they come under the purview of NIA,” he said.
Meanwhile, the delegation led by the CPM, CPI, and Kerala Congress (M) condemned the targeted attack on Christian and Adivasi communities in Chhattisgarh. The delegation met the nuns on Wednesday. CPM leader Brinda Karat termed the arrest ‘unconstitutional and illegal’, and demanded their immediate release. “The nuns have been jailed as part of a malicious agenda of the BJP and the Chhattisgarh government. This is a targeted attack on Christians in the country,” she claimed. The delegation condemned the free hand given to Bajrang Dal activists who intimidated the nuns in front of the police.
However, Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma defended the police, saying, “Such incidents (human trafficking and coercive conversions) have been reported from Narayanpur earlier also. So the issue should be investigated. The FIR has substantial grounds.”
Protests to continue till nuns receive justice: All Kerala Catholic Congress
Protest marches and meetings were organised all over Kerala expressing solidarity with the arrested nuns. According to Fr Philip Kaviyil, director, All Kerala Catholic Congress, protests were the strongest in Kannur and Kasaragod. “People have been taking out marches since the news of the arrest of the nuns came in. Catholic Congress members even took out a march bearing lighted torches. The protests will continue until the nuns are released,” he added. A symbolic protest march was taken out to the Raj Bhavan by the members and leaders of the Latin Catholic Archdiocese in Thiruvananthapuram.
Chhattisgarh CM’s intervention saw prosecutors go lenient, says Anoop Antony
With the Sessions Court refusing to hear the bail plea citing a jurisdictional issue, the next step as to whether to approach the High Court or the NIA Court will have to be decided, BJP leader Anoop Antony Joseph told TNIE. According to him, a decision can be arrived at only after the court’s order is received. “The court had said that a bail application can be moved either before the HC or the NIA,” he added. Meanwhile, on the Chhattisgarh CM providing every support, he said that it was because of his intervention that the prosecutors took a mild approach and supported the case.