Kerala nuns remain in Chhattisgarh jail after Durg court doesn’t hear bail plea

CPM leader Brinda Karat said the two nuns were sent to jail “as part of a narrow agenda of the BJP and the Chhattisgarh government”

RAIPUR: A court in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district on Wednesday disposed of the bail petitions of two Kerala nuns arrested in an alleged conversion and human trafficking case.

Kochi: Nuns stage a protest in Kochi demanding the release of two Kerala nuns arrested in Chhattisgarh over allegations of human trafficking and forced religious conversion, on July 29 (PTI)

Ravi Shankar Singh, secretary of the Durg Advocates Association, said the bail application was filed with the sessions judge on Tuesday. “Today, the judge was on leave, so the additional district judge heard the bail application. In one line, the judge said that he does not have the authority to hear the bail application because the matter comes under the NIA Act and the NIA court is in Bilaspur.”

Singh said when the defence lawyers pointed out that the nuns were in a Durg jail, the judge simply said that he was disposing of the application. “The court told the police they have 15 days to write to the government to transfer the case to the NIA court,” he added.

It is not clear why the judge asked the case to be transferred to a NIA court.

Tamaskar Tandon, who appeared for the nuns, said the first information report (FIR) was registered in Durg on mere suspicion that a crime has taken place. “The GRP (Government Railway Police) has conducted no inquiry, hence the FIR is quashable. Further, the alleged victims are all adults and none of their family members have complained of trafficking or conversion.”

He added that although the detailed order is awaited, the judge disposed of the bail petition, saying that the charges are covered under the NIA Act and require the Central government’s permission. “We argued why the nuns should be kept in prison all this while when they are not at fault,” he said.

The lawyer also said that they were considering approaching the high court.

The two nuns, Preeti Mary and Vandana Francis, were arrested by the GRP at Durg railway station on July 25, along with another person, Sukaman Mandavi, following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal activist who claimed they were forcibly converting and trafficking three women from tribal-dominated Narayanpur district.

On Wednesday, senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat met the nuns at Durg Central Jail and alleged that their arrest was “unconstitutional and illegal,” and part of a targeted attack on Christians.

“This is a targeted attack on Christians in the country. Based on a fabricated case, the two nuns have been arrested. They have been working for years among the poor and were sent to jail as part of a narrow agenda of the BJP and the Chhattisgarh government,” Karat told reporters outside the jail.

Karat added that the nuns were unwell and were still made to sleep on the floor. “They are ailing and suffering from fever and arthritis… Even basic human values are being trampled. This is lawlessness,” she claimed.

She further alleged that Bajrang Dal activists assaulted the three alleged victims in front of the police and forced them to change their statements. “There is no rule of law, instead there is rule of goons,” she said, demanding that the FIR be withdrawn and the nuns released immediately.

Karat added that a tribal man, Sukaman Mandavi, was also arrested and assaulted. “The BJP claims to be the well-wisher of tribals. But that man was also forced to change his statement. This is a matter of shame,” she said.

Karat said that all citizens have every right to travel and seek employment anywhere in the country. “All the allegations are baseless and part of a Hindutva agenda to attack minorities.”

A delegation of leaders from the Congress-led UDF alliance in Kerala also visited Durg Central Jail and met the two nuns on Tuesday. The delegation later called on Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai, who assured them that the matter would be investigated thoroughly.

Sai had earlier said it was unfortunate that the issue of women’s safety was being politicised. “Three daughters of Narayanpur were promised nursing training, followed by jobs. A person from Narayanpur handed them over to two nuns at Durg station, who were taking them to Agra. An attempt was being made to convert them,” he had said.