A special NIA court in Chhattisgarh has granted conditional bail to two Kerala nuns and a male companion who were arrested last week on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.
Principal District and Sessions Judge Sirajuddin Qureshi granted bail to Sisters Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI), and Sukaman Mandavi, a tribal youth from the state.
CPM leader Brinda Karat told NDTV this is a big victory for tribals and adivasi groups that had countered the allegations. She demanded action against Bajrang Dal and Hindu Vahini for filing false complaints.
CPIM MP John Brittas said, "It is a victory of the Constitution. It was a false case against two nuns. Our fight will continue to get the FIR quashed."
The three of them were arrested on July 25 at the Durg railway station after a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary alleged they were attempting to traffic and convert three tribal girls.
The defense lawyer for the nuns, Amrito Das, had argued that the FIR was "absolutely baseless," and noted that the parents of the girls had given statements affirming that their daughters had been practicing Christianity for several years. So there was no question of forced conversion and also that they were adults being taken for work to Agra and they had said they were going voluntarily, so there was no human trafficking.
The bail was granted under several conditions. The accused must surrender their passports and furnish a bond of Rs 50,000 each, with two persons acting as sureties.
This development comes after a sessions court in Durg had earlier disposed of their bail applications, citing a lack of jurisdiction under the human trafficking section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and directing them to approach the designated NIA court in Bilaspur.
The arrest had triggered widespread protests in Kerala and drew sharp criticism from Church leaders and political parties, including the ruling LDF and the Opposition. The case had also created a rift between the BJP units in Kerala and Chhattisgarh, with Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar stating that the arrests were a "misunderstanding" and that the Chhattisgarh government would not oppose their bail.
The defense lawyer for the nuns, Amrito Das, had argued that the FIR was "absolutely baseless," and noted that the parents of the girls had given statements affirming that their daughters had been practicing Christianity for several years.
