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
The arrests reportedly followed alleged pressure from a Hindu organisation which insisted that the police file an FIR. The local church representatives have alleged that the young women were coerced into making adverse statements following their custody that their consent was undermined, and that they had been forced.
Hindu Group Allegedly Pressured FIR Filing
The United Christian Forum claims that incidents targeting Christians jumped from 127 in 2014 to 834 in 2024, totaling 4,316 over 2014–2024.Church bodies such as the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Mar Thoma Syrian Church have condemned the arrest. The Catholic Bishops Conference of India, the apex body of senior clerics, has condemned the event. Mumbai -based Watchdog Foundation said that the detention appears to breach the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, specifically the rights to freedom of religion (Article 18), freedom of movement and association, and due process protections (Articles 9 and 14).
Appeals Made to UN and International Court of Justice
The arrests have sparked widespread protests in Kerala. The Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council has formally labeled the charges unconstitutional, called for immediate release, and demanded action against perpetrators of communal incitement. It cited the UCF’s data on the rise of attacks on Christians as evidence of a broader threat to India’s pluralism.
