Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K. Sangma has written to his Chhattisgarh counterpart urging for a “fair probe and withdrawal of false case” against two Kerala nuns who were arrested last week over alleged human trafficking and forced religious conversion.
Sangma shared the development through a post on his X account on Friday afternoon and also uploaded the letter sent to Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai on July 31 in his capacity as the national president of the National People’s Party (NPP), an ally of the BJP, which is in power in Chhattisgarh.
Sangma posted on X: “Wrote to the chief minister of Chhattisgarh, @vishnudsai ji over the arrest of two Kerala nuns, Sister Vandana Francis & Sister Preethy Mary, on shocking and unfounded allegations of human trafficking.”
Sangma, the chief minister of a Christian-majority state, further stated in his post that “religious persecution of any kind has no place in a democratic and secular nation like India”, adding “such baseless accusations not only endanger the lives and freedom of innocent individuals but also reflect a worrying pattern of religious targeting”.
“Urged the chief minister for fair probe, withdrawal of false case & protection of minority rights. Justice must prevail. Intolerance must not,” Sangma said.
The arrests were made on July 25 based on a complaint lodged by a Bajrang Dal activist who accused the nuns of forcibly converting three women from Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district and trafficking them to Agra.
According to Sangma, the nuns work in Fatima Hospital in Agra.
An NIA court in Chhatisgarh on Friday reserved its order on the bail applications moved by the three persons arrested in the case, including two nuns and a local man.
The arrests triggered protests from Christian organisations and several Opposition parties. A Congress delegation from Kerala is in Chhattisgarh to meet the nuns. The issue even figured in Parliament.
In his letter, Sangma stated Chhattisgarh police detained the nuns from the Durg railway station allegedly under “false charges and pressure from right-wing groups”.
Sangma said: “The situation arose when the nuns were accompanying three girls from Chhattisgarh to Agra. A Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) questioned the girls, who stated they didn’t have tickets and were traveling at the nuns’ request.”
“The TTE alerted local activists, who then alleged the nuns were attempting to take the girls for forced religious conversion. This claim sparked a protest, and the police detained the nuns and girls based on the activists’ complaint.”
Sangma’s letter said a case has been lodged against the nuns under “serious sections” but “we believe that this is a case of harassment and false allegations. Hence, we urge you to intervene and ensure justice.”
Sai said on Friday that the law “was doing its job” in the case.
