Sister Preethi Mary and Sister Vandana Francis of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate, affiliated to the Syro‑Malabar Church, were arrested in July 24 at Durg railway station by railway police.
Christian community groups have drawn the attention of international organisations, including the United Nations and the International Court of Justice, to the arrest of two Roman Catholic nuns in Chhattisgarh under charges of human trafficking and forceful religious conversion of three tribal women.
Nuns Arrested on Trafficking and Conversion Charges
Sister Preethi Mary and Sister Vandana Francis of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate, affiliated to the Syro‑Malabar Church, were arrested in July 24 at Durg railway station by railway police. They were charged under Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for human trafficking and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act, 1968, for religious conversion. They were accompanying three adult tribal women, aged between 18 and 19 from Narayanpur, who were travelling to Agra for nursing jobs. The church said the women had signed parental consent letters and identification, which were in the possession of the nuns.
Church Claims Legal Documents Were in Order