‘Conversion, trafficking’ case: Kerala nuns walk out of Chhattisgarh jail after bail by NIA court

The two nuns and another person, Sukhman Mandavi, who has also been granted bail, were arrested on July 25 by the Government Railway Police (GRP) from Durg railway station following a complaint by workers of a right-wing outfit. The complaint alleged that they forcibly converted three women from Narayanpur and were attempting to traffic them.

On Friday, their bail application was heard by Principal District and Sessions Judge (NIA court) Sirajuddin Qureshi, who reserved the order for Saturday.

Amrito Das, the nuns’ lawyer, said that on Saturday, the court granted bail on the grounds that the arrested persons did not need to be in custody.

The order said, “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 persons. In the arrest memo of the accused persons, no previous record of their criminal history has been annexed.”

The court also said that according to the arrest memo, the accused are not habitual offenders nor do they fall under the “dangerous category”. There is also no apprehension of the accused absconding, it said.

“It is also significant that the parents of the three victims have also filed their affidavits stating that the accused persons/applicants have not allured or forced or coerced their daughters for religious conversion or human trafficking. Out of the three major/adult victim girls, the two victim girls in their statement before the police under section 180 of BNSS, 2023, deposed that they have been followers of Christianity since childhood,” the order said.

It also pointed out that there had been “no requisition from the investigating agency for custodial interrogation of the accused persons”.

“It is apparent that the investigation, as well as the trial, shall require a reasonable span of time for completion. The investigating agency has not placed any material on record before the court to show how continued custody of the accused persons would be necessary for the investigation or ends of justice,” the order said.

However, the court made it clear that the granting of bail “shall not be construed as a reflection on the merits of the case, which shall be examined at the appropriate stage”.

Their lawyer, Das, said bail was granted on a surety of Rs 50,000. “Also, they will have to surrender their passports and cannot leave the country and will have to cooperate with the police investigation,” Das said. The bail order mandated that the accused not speak with the media.

A second lawyer for the nuns, B Gopa Kumar, said they may approach the High Court to quash the FIR.

Both nuns have been engaged in social work since the 1990s, those who know them said. Marry is a registered nurse, and Vandana has worked as a paramedical staffer and is trained in pharmacy.

Another nun from Kerala, Ancilin Francis, who knows the two arrested nuns, said both were alright in terms of their health. “Their health is okay. They are thankful to the Lord, the government of Chhattisgarh, and all political leaders from the Congress, the BJP, and the CPI(M). Their support was great. The nuns are also thankful to people all over the world who prayed for them and worked towards getting them bail. They hope the case against them is quashed because they have not committed any crime,” Ancilin Francis, who is a doctor, said.

Meanwhile, the three women, who the complainants alleged were being trafficked, have approached the Narayanpur police with a complaint against members of the Bajrang Dal. The complaint has been transferred to the Durg police as the alleged offence took place in their jurisdiction. Annie Peter, a Congress leader who was in Durg when the nuns were arrested, said, “The Bajrang Dal members must receive strict punishment for harassing the nuns.”

The Indian Express had on July 30 spoken with one of the three women. The woman said the arrested persons, including the two nuns, were innocent. She alleged that right-wing workers threatened her to change her statement and that the GRP did not listen to what she was saying and based the FIR on what the right-wing workers said. While senior Chhattisgarh Police officers refused to comment, the right-wing workers stood by the allegations made in their initial complaint.