Two Malayali Catholic nuns, Preetha Mary and Vandana Francis, were arrested and jailed by Chhattisgarh police after being targeted by members of the Bajrang Dal, who falsely accused them of engaging in forced religious conversions.
The incident occurred on Friday at Durg railway station, where Sisters Vandana and Preetha—members of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI), a congregation under the Syro-Malabar Church headquartered in Cherthala, Kerala—were taken into custody.
The nuns, who work at Fatima Hospital in Agra, were accompanying three young women to Chhattisgarh, reportedly to begin domestic work. The group was intercepted at the station by a Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) for not possessing platform tickets. During questioning, the young women, aged between 19 and 22, told the TTE they were travelling to work under the care of the nuns. One of the girls’ brothers was also present.
According to reports, the TTE informed local Bajrang Dal members, who then arrived at the station and began accusing the nuns of attempting to convert the girls. Despite the women clearly stating they were already Christians and had travelled with their parents’ written consent—including copies of ID cards permitting them to work with the sisters—the mob insisted it was a case of “forced conversion.”
The group was forced to deboard the train, and both the police and the Bajrang Dal members escorted them to the police station. There, the police registered charges of human trafficking and forced conversion against the two nuns. It was also claimed that one of the girls had told police she had been taken without her consent.
Kerala CM seeks PM’s intervention, LoP slams RSS
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday also sought Modi’s intervention in ensuring justice to the two nuns, PTI reported.
In a letter to the prime minister, the chief minister said that Mary and Francis were arrested when they had gone to receive women who were coming to work in their convent.
Family members of the two nuns have claimed that they had not been able to communicate with them after they were taken into custody, he added.
Vijayan requested the prime minister to intervene in the matter and ensure transparent and fair proceedings, PTI reported.
Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition, V.D. Satheesan, strongly condemned the incident and called out the broader pattern of targeted harassment by right-wing groups.
“The Sangh Parivar is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” said Satheesan. “In Kerala, they arrive at church altars and Christian homes with cakes. But elsewhere, they violently disrupt Christian festivities and launch brutal attacks. The case of the two nuns in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh is the latest example of this vicious targeting.”
He added that the arrested nuns were subjected to a police witch-hunt, mob trial, and fabricated charges. “Reports suggest that due to the growing hostility and threats, senior clergy have even informally advised nuns to avoid wearing their religious habits in public and to dress in plain clothes instead. What kind of terrifying atmosphere is this?”
Satheesan further asserted, “Persecution in the name of religion or caste is unacceptable. It is not the job of the Sangh Parivar, nor the duty of the Chhattisgarh or Union government, to spread communal hatred or enable those who do. The rights guaranteed by the Constitution belong to all Indians. They are not favours granted by the BJP or the RSS.”
He demanded the immediate release of the two nuns, calling the charges baseless and politically motivated.
