Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday justified the arrests of two Kerala-based nuns on charges of religious conversion and trafficking, saying that "the law is doing its job". His remarks come as there is mounting political backlash from opposition parties for the incident.
The CM, who was spotted outside Parliament on Friday, is said to have been called by the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership to explain the political repercussions of the arrests.
Sisters Vandana Francis and Preethi Mary, both of Kerala, and Sukhman Mandavi were detained by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Durg railway station on July 25. The trio was arrested on a complaint from a local Bajrang Dal worker, alleging that they had tried to forcibly convert and traffic three women belonging to the tribal community from the Narayanpur district.
Also read: Chhattisgarh nuns’ case ‘legally flawed,’ bail likely soon: Amit Shah
The case has set off a political storm, with the Congress and the CPM blaming the BJP government-led state for targeting minority groups in the name of law and order. Chief Minister Sai, however, rejected the charges, stating that the opposition was "politicising the issue".
Meanwhile, a sessions court in Durg district on Wednesday refused to hear the bail applications of the accused, holding that it did not have jurisdiction in the case. The court asked the petitioners to approach the special NIA court for relief.
In their bail application, the accused alleged the three tribal women were already Christians by practice and were voluntarily going along with them to Agra, stating no conversion or trafficking had occurred.
Follow us
