Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi | Amid a raging row in Kerala over the arrest of two nuns from the state in Chhattisgarh over allegations of human trafficking and forced conversion, a Congress-led UDF MP on Thursday claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured that all possible steps would be taken to ensure their release.
All political parties in Kerala including the BJP have thrown their weight behind the nuns, who have been detained in the saffron-party ruled Chhattisgarh.
Lok Sabha member N K Premachandran told reporters in New Delhi after a delegation of MPs from Kerala met Shah over the issue, that the minister has assured of all legal steps by the Centre and the Chhattisgarh government to ensure the release of the two nuns.
He also said that Shah's remarks during the meeting indicated that he believed the nuns were innocent.
Premachandran said that it was "unfortunate" that a sessions court in Durg, Chhattisgarh shifted the nuns' case to an NIA court which deals with terror-related matters.
"It was done without hearing any of the sides. There was actually no need to do that," he said.
The MP said that Shah, during the meeting, also assured them that the Chhattisgarh government will move a plea in the NIA court to shift the case from there.
The Home Minister informed them that directions have been issued to the state government not to oppose the bail plea of the nuns, he added.
"Therefore, we are 99 per cent hopeful that the nuns will get bail today itself. The central government and the home minister have taken a favourable stand in the matter," Premachandran added.
Nuns Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis along with Sukaman Mandavi were arrested at Durg railway station on July 25 following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary who accused them of forcibly converting three girls from Narayanpur and trafficking them.
New Delhi | Left Democratic Front (LDF) MPs on Thursday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and submitted a memorandum seeking his intervention in the arrest of two nuns from Kerala in Chhattisgarh on allegations of human trafficking and conversion.
The MPs urged the minister to see the attack in the context of a rise in targeted attacks against Christian missionaries and humanitarian workers. They said 834 incidents of violence against Christians were reported in 2024 - averaging nearly 70 incidents per month, up from 733 in 2023.
The signatories included CPI(M)'s John Brittas, V Sivadasan, Amra Ram, R Sachithanantham, K Radhakrishnan, AA Rahim, CPI MPs P Sandosh Kumar, PP Suneer, and Kerala Congress MP Jose K Mani.
The lawmakers called it a matter of "grave injustice," "communal intimidation," and systemic failure that has wounded the conscience of the nation. Thus they sought Shah's immediate intervention in the matter.
"The recent arrest and continued incarceration of two Catholic nuns from Kerala Sr. Vandhana Francis and Sr. Preethi Mary in Durg, Chhattisgarh, is not an isolated incident. It reflects the increasingly hostile climate faced by minority communities and those working selflessly among the most marginalized," the MPs said in the memorandum.
They said the accusations lacked both substance and corroboration and appear to be nothing more than a pretext to harass the nuns, criminalise their humanitarian work, and vilify religious minorities.
"Notably, the women involved have reportedly lodged no complaint and have affirmed that they were travelling voluntarily, were already practicing Christians, and had the consent of their parents. Yet, the police invoked the draconian provisions of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act and Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita to justify their arrest," they said.
They said the FIR was allegedly based not on the testimonies of the women involved, but on versions supplied by Bajrang Dal members. They also said bail was denied to the nuns on technical grounds.
"The nuns, despite having no criminal background, not being apprehended in the act of any crime, and with no substantive evidence against them, continue to languish in custody due to procedural limbo and a disturbingly opaque invocation of harsh laws," the MPs said.
"This incident must also be viewed in the broader context of a disturbing rise in targeted violence, intimidation, coercion, and surveillance against Christian missionaries, pastors, and humanitarian workers across India," they said.
LDF MPs quoted data compiled by the United Christian Forum revealing an increased instances of violence against Christians.
They said the trend continues unabated in 2025, with the Violence Monitor Report 2025 by Catholic Connect documenting 378 incidents between January and June -- more than two attacks per day.
"Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are the most affected states, with Chhattisgarh alone recording 82 such incidents in the first half of this year," they said.
The lawmakers said the continued incarceration of the two nuns, despite the absence of any credible evidence or just cause, must be brought to an end.
"We request that necessary directions be issued to ensure that justice is neither delayed nor denied. We also urge the Union Government to unequivocally reaffirm its commitment to constitutional values -- religious freedom, secularism, fraternity, and non-discrimination and to take firm action against those who seek to undermine them through intimidation and falsehood," they said.
Nuns Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis along with Sukaman Mandavi were arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at the Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh on July 25 following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who accused them of forcibly converting three women from the state's tribal-dominated Narayanpur district and trafficking them.
A sessions court in Chhattisgarh's Durg district on Wednesday said it does not have the jurisdiction to hear the bail applications of the two nuns arrested in the state on charges of human trafficking and religious conversion.
Durg | A woman school principal was arrested in Durg in Chhattisgarh on Thursday for allegedly beating up a 3-and-half-year-old student and sticking tape on her mouth as punishement for using 'Radhe Radhe' as a greeting, a police official said on Thursday.
The incident took place on Wednesday morning in Mother Teresa English Medium School in Bagdumar village under Nandini police station limits, he said.
"The child studies in nursery in the school. School principal Ila Evan Colvin was arrested under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 115(2) and 299 as well as section 75 of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act for causing hurt, outraging religious feelings, cruelty to children, and other offences," he said.
"The school principal punished the girl by beating her and sticking tape on her mouth when she greeted by saying 'Radhe Radhe'," the official said quoting the First Information Report.
