Christian and civil society groups in Mumbai have condemned the arrest of nuns, Sister Vandana Francis and Sister Preethi Mary, in Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.
The Kerala-based nuns, who were accompanying three young tribal women, were arrested at Durg railway station on July 25 after the police received complaints from right-wing activists. The nuns were refused bail on June 30 by a local court and are in judicial custody.
Community groups said that the court's decision not to hear the bail petition has intensified the political debate surrounding the arrests. "The nuns were accompanying three tribal women from Narayanpur district to Agra, where they were to be trained and offered work at Fatima Hospital. The women and their families have reportedly said there was no forced religious conversion and that they were going of their own free will as adults," said church activist, advocate Cyril Dara.
The Citizens for the Constitution (CFTC) condemned the arrest of the nuns and said that one of the women allegedly trafficked has said she was coerced into making a false statement implicating the nuns.
In reality, all three women were already Christians and were traveling for a job offered by the nuns with the consent of their families, and there is no evidence of force or coercion, said CFTC.
The organisation said the case should be viewed in the broader context of increasing 'state-backed campaigns' aimed at the identification of illegal Bangladeshi migrants. One instance, CFTC said, was the mob attack on a Muslim family in Pune on the night of July 26, accusing them of being illegal immigrants. The CFTC urged the Prime Minister and the concerned state governments to take cognisance of the incidents and uphold their constitutional responsibility.
The organisation also urged the Supreme and High Courts, the National Commission of Minorities, and the National Human Rights Commission to issue summons to the police and hold them accountable for the incidents. Father Reuben Tellis, a priest from the Archdiocese of Bombay, composed a special prayer for the safety and protection of nuns, priests and laity serving in various parts of the world and especially in remote areas of India.
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