A Special NIA Court in Bilaspur on Saturday granted conditional bail to two Catholic nuns from Kerala, Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis, and another individual, Sukaman Mandavi, who were arrested on July 25 on charges of human trafficking and unlawful religious conversion.
The trio was taken into custody by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Durg railway station following a complaint by a Bajrang Dal functionary, who alleged that the nuns were attempting to forcibly convert and traffic three young women from Narayanpur. The case was subsequently moved to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Bilaspur after the Durg sessions court declined jurisdiction, citing that human trafficking is a scheduled offence under the NIA Act.
Principal District and Sessions Judge (NIA Court) Sirajuddin Qureshi, who had reserved the bail order after hearing arguments on Friday, granted the three accused bail on the condition that they submit a bond of Rs 50,000 each with two sureties, surrender their passports, not leave the country, and cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation.
Defence lawyer Amrito Das said, “The court has granted them bail on the condition that they submit a bond of Rs 50,000 each with two sureties, not leave the country, and surrender their passports.” He added that there were “a few more conditions, but the final order was yet to be received.”
Das also noted that the prosecution did not seek custody for further interrogation. “The judge granted bail observing there was no need to keep them in custody,” he told The Indian Express. According to Das, the women involved were traveling voluntarily for employment purposes, and the parents had supported this claim in written statements.
The arrest had triggered a political row, with Opposition parties such as the Congress and CPI(M) criticising the police action and alleging that the charges were politically motivated. In response, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai defended the proceedings. “It was a legal procedure and bail has been granted in it,” he said.
Public prosecutor Dauram Chandravanshi confirmed that bail had indeed been granted under specific conditions.
Meanwhile, in a twist to the case, the three women who were allegedly being trafficked appeared at the office of the Superintendent of Police in Narayanpur, seeking to file a First Information Report (FIR) against Bajrang Dal activists. They claimed they were assaulted and coerced into giving false statements against the nuns before the GRP in Durg.
The three women had earlier been kept in a shelter home for three days following their rescue, before being sent back home.
With inputs from agencies
