A special NIA court in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district granted bail to two Kerala-based nuns and another accused on Saturday, after they had spent nine days in jail. The nuns, Preethy Mary and Vandana Francis, along with Sukaman Mandavi, were arrested on July 25 by railway police at Durg railway station. The arrest followed a complaint filed by a local Bajrang Dal functionary, accusing them of human trafficking and forced religious conversion of three tribal girls from Narayanpur district.
The court granted bail on the conditions that the nuns surrender their passports, provide two sureties, and furnish a bond of ₹50,000 each. The hearing was presided over by Principal District and Sessions Judge (NIA court) Sirajuddin Qureshi. Public prosecutor Dauram Chandravanshi stated that the prosecution had opposed the bail, arguing that the investigation was still in its early stages.
Defense lawyer Amrito Das told the court that the women in question were all adults and already practicing Christianity. He also pointed out that the accused were not remanded to police custody and that the alleged victims had been returned to their homes. Furthermore, reports indicated that the parents of the three women told police that their daughters were neither forcibly taken away nor misled. Das argued that there was no material evidence to suggest human trafficking or forced religious conversion.
The arrests had sparked a political controversy, with opposition parties raising the issue in Parliament earlier in the week. A delegation from the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in Kerala visited Raipur on Friday to meet the nuns. The Congress has alleged that referring the case to an NIA-designated court was a deliberate move to delay bail.
The court had reserved its order on the bail application on Friday after hearing arguments from both sides. The prosecution argued that the case was in its initial stages of investigation. The defense, however, maintained that there was no compelling evidence to support the charges.
The case has drawn significant public attention, with many expressing support for the nuns.
