After arrest of nuns, political row in Chhattisgarh
The trio, taken into custody by Durg Government Railway Police (GRP) on Saturday for human trafficking and coerced religious conversion, were remanded to judicial custody by the JMFC court till August 8. They were booked under BNS Section 143 (trafficking).
Citing the incident as a serious concern for women's safety, Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Monday wrote on X, 'Three daughters of Narayanpur were promised nursing training and later jobs. It's an attempt to convert people through human trafficking by allurement. Investigation is going on in this matter. The case is sub-judice and the law will take its own course.'
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Time of India
17 minutes ago
- Time of India
NIA court in Chhattisgarh grants conditional bail to Kerala nuns, tribal man in human trafficking, conversion case
RAIPUR: A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district on Saturday granted conditional bail to the two Catholic nuns from Kerala and a tribal man arrested last month on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion. The bail was granted by Principal District and Sessions Judge (NIA Court) Sirajuddin Qureshi, who had reserved the order on Friday after hearing arguments from both sides. Reacting to the development, Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said, "It was a legal procedure and bail has been granted in it." With the court granting conditional bail, the three accused were released from jail on Saturday evening, though legal proceedings in the case will continue. The defence lawyer Amrito Das told reporters, 'The bail was heard yesterday, and the arguments have concluded. Honourable court had reserved the matter to declare the verdict on Saturday. The bail application has now been accepted and granted to all the three applicants. The condition prescribed is that the applicants have to submit a bond of Rs 50,000 each. They must cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation and appear before the investigation officer whenever summoned. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Beyond Text Generation: An AI Tool That Helps You Write Better Grammarly Install Now Undo The accused are prohibited from tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses in any manner, they will have to surrender their passports and can't leave the country." The alleged accused nuns Sister Preethi Merry and Sister Vandana Francis and another local tribal Christian Sukaman Mandavi, were arrested by Government Railway Police (GRP) on July 25 at Durg railway station. The arrests followed a complaint lodged by a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who alleged that the trio was trafficking three tribal girls from Narayanpur district of Bastar division under the pretext of religious conversion and taking them to Agra. Following their arrest, they were sent to judicial custody and the case was later referred to the special NIA court in Bilaspur. The issue has triggered political reactions from Kerala and beyond. According to the court's order, the bail was granted considering that no prior criminal record was found of any of the accused, all alleged victims are adults, and no material was presented to prove coercion or inducement for religious conversion. he accused were not found in possession of any objectionable material, and the prosecution did not seek custodial interrogation, indicating no immediate need for further detention, the order stated. The court noted that while the allegations are serious, the investigation is in a preliminary stage, and no direct evidence of trafficking or forced conversion has been presented so far. The judge emphasized that bail cannot be denied merely on the basis of unverified allegations when no strong prima facie case is made out at this stage. Speaking to media persons after the bail was granted, deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma who also holds Home portfolio stated that the investigation in the matter will continue, as it was alarming that girls from a place like Abujhamarh which hardly has access to a school, were being taken to Agra. It's difficult to open a school there, how could it be accessible for other to contact locals be taken to some place else, he said. 'As far as the issue of religious conversion is concerned, now that the matter is coming to the fore, it wouldn't be wrong for people to create awareness against such activities. Of course, it shouldn't be unlawful or personal act,' Sharma said. Meanwhile, the three tribal women survivors of Narayanpur went to the office of SP in district headquarters seeking to lodge an FIR against Bajrang Dal activists for allegedly assaulting them and forcing them to give false statements against nuns before the Durg GRP. Kerala's Cardinal Baselios on Nuns' Bail: 'We trust the courts, judicial process has now begun' Hours after the NIA court in Chhattisgarh granted conditional bail to two nuns arrested on charges of human trafficking and religious conversion, the President of Kerala Catholic Bishops Council Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholicos told TOI over a phone call, 'With the bail granted, the first charter of the circumstance has come to a conclusion, but we don't think the issue is closed. The judicial process now begins and we wish the sisters to be declared innocent after the legal process.' Speaking as the spokesman of the Church, Baselios said, 'We all believe that they are innocent and were trying to help the young girls. The girls are mature and not minors, they can a decision for themselves. Let the court take its act of justice and we have all confidence in the court.' 'We believe that the accusations against nuns have to be proved, while my apprehension is that once a crowd is dictates what is right and not, things in democracy and judiciary will be in trouble. Let the court alone make the sincere investigation and find the truth,' he added. 'The nuns are from Kerala and we are with them on different levels as we have emotional attachment with them. They are not two simple sisters, the issue is of serious concern for us. It shouldn't happen again anywhere in the country. Else, anyone could accuse anyone and put them in jail, who will prove them innocent,' Cardinal Baselios said. Cardinal Baselios Cleemis is a former President of Catholic Bishops Conference of India twice, and is present consultant to Pope Leo XIV in the dicastry of inter-religious dialogue, besides, he's also serving as head of the Syro Malankara Catholic Church in Kerala. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
News18
44 minutes ago
- News18
5 held as Delhi Police busts Rs 10-lakh counterfeit auto parts racket
Last Updated: New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) The Delhi Police has busted a large-scale racket involved in the manufacturing and sale of counterfeit automobile spare parts and engine oil, arresting five people and seizing fake products worth over Rs 10 lakh, an official said on Saturday. The operation targeted two premises — Karol Bagh and Madanpur Dabas — where counterfeit items bearing trademarks of reputed brands like Honda, TVS and ASK were being produced and stored, according to an official statement by police. The raids were conducted following intelligence about the counterfeit trade, which was later verified in coordination with legal representatives of the affected automobile companies, a senior police officer said. A case was registered under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Copyright Act at the Crime Branch police station. 'Large quantities of duplicate engine oil bottles, packaging materials, branding stickers and even machinery used for sealing and packaging were recovered during the raids," Harsh Indora, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), said. Among those arrested was Shubham Panjiyar (29), a resident of Uttam Nagar, who has a prior history in a similar case registered at Nihal Vihar. During interrogation, he confessed to being involved in the illegal trade since 2020. He also provided information to the police about other co-accused who were later apprehended. The other arrested individuals have been identified as Himanshu Kawatara, a trader from Karol Bagh; Naveen alias Deepak Taneja, Panjiyar's brother-in-law; Ramakant Chaurasiya, a supplier of fake bottles; and Shyam Narayan, who provided counterfeit packaging materials. 'The police recovered hundreds of fake items, including over 7,000 counterfeit cap foils and 2,850 bottle caps bearing the Honda brand logo, more than 3,400 TVS-branded caps and nearly 2,800 empty bottles, 1,400 brake shoes marked with the ASK logo and a bottle cap sealing machine used in the illegal operations," the DCP added. Further investigation is underway. PTI SSJ SMV SMV KSS KSS view comments First Published: August 02, 2025, 18:45 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
"Made-Up Conversion Story": Tribal Girls After Bail To Kerala Nuns
Bhopal: Kumari Lalita Usendi, her voice firm but emotional, says she feels good that she has been proven innocent. "Jyoti Sharma sent bhaiya and sister to jail without any proof. Today we got bail, and it feels good," Ms Usendi said. Another young tribal girl, Kamleshwari Pradhan, breaks into tears while speaking to NDTV. "There was so much violence, sir... it was our first time traveling like this... they dragged us to the police station, Jyoti Sharma beat us. It was terrifying," Ms Pradhan said. In a dramatic turn of events in the much-politicised conversion and trafficking case in Chhattisgarh's Durg, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur granted conditional bail to two Catholic nuns from Kerala and a tribal youth from Chhattisgarh, who were arrested amidst a wave of controversy and political grandstanding. The court, while granting bail, ruled that each accused must deposit Rs 50,000 in bond and submit their passports, forbidding them from leaving the country without permission. "We were on our way to Agra for work. Jyoti Sharma accused us of religious conversion and human trafficking. These are false allegations. We've been attending prayers since childhood. What she says is a lie," Sukanmati Mandavi said. The bail order was passed by the Principal District and Sessions Judge (NIA court) Sirajuddin Qureshi, who reserved his decision after hearing arguments on Friday. The court observed that there was no need to keep them in custody and granted bail under certain restrictions. The arrests, which took place on July 25 at Durg railway station, were triggered by a complaint from the Bajrang Dal alleging that the nuns were forcibly converting three tribal girls from Narayanpur and trafficking them. The Durg GRP acted swiftly, arresting Preeti Mary, Vandana Francis, and Sukaman Mandavi, a local youth accompanying them. What followed was a political firestorm that reached from Chhattisgarh to Kerala to the corridors of Delhi. The courtroom scene on Saturday was subdued yet tense. After hearing the bail petition on Friday, the NIA court reserved its verdict, which it delivered a day later. The judge, Sirajuddin Qureshi, noted that there was no prior criminal record against the accused and found the case lacking enough weight to justify further detention, at least at this stage. Outside the courtroom, relief was palpable among supporters of the nuns. "The victims have been sent home. The prosecution didn't even demand custody. The truth will come out eventually," lawyer Amrito Das said. The petitioner's lawyer, B Gopakumar, said some bail conditions were also put up, including that "they will not be able to go abroad, they will have to surrender the passport, they should not influence the witness." But while the legal system granted relief to the accused, the case took a shocking turn when the very girls allegedly being "rescued" came forward - not as victims of the nuns, but of those who had claimed to protect them. On Saturday afternoon, the three tribal girls appeared at the office of the Superintendent of Police in Narayanpur, accompanied by their family and local activists. Breaking down in front of the media, one of the girls accused members of the Bajrang Dal and social worker Jyoti Sharma of beating, molesting, and publicly humiliating them at the Durg railway station. "We were going on our own will to work. They stopped us, beat us, touched us inappropriately and hurled abuses," one young woman cried out as she clutched a written complaint. Her family echoed her pain. "Our daughters were framed. Our family's dignity was torn apart in public. We want strict action against Bajrang Dal and Jyoti Sharma," said her mother. The women allege the entire case was a politically-driven fabricated narrative designed to stir religious tensions and criminalise community workers. "They made up a story of conversion and used us as pawns," said another girl. The police have acknowledged receipt of their complaint and assured that an inquiry will be conducted. No first information report (FIR) has been filed yet.
