A special court in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district has granted bail to two Kerala nuns and a male companion who were arrested on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion. The court's decision comes nine days after their arrest at Durg railway station.
The two nuns, Preeti Marry and Vandana Francis, along with Sukaman Mandavi, were taken into custody on July 25, 2025, following allegations of engaging in forced religious conversion and human trafficking. Principal District and Sessions Judge (NIA court) Sirajuddin Qureshi had reserved the order on their bail pleas after a hearing on Friday. The court has granted conditional bail to the trio, according to defence lawyer Amrito Das.
The arrests had sparked controversy, with members of the Christian community staging protests against the allegations of forcible conversion and trafficking. The Kerala and Chhattisgarh units of the BJP had differing views on the matter, while Rajeev Chandrasekhar insisted that the nuns would get justice.
