Chhattisgarh court grants bail to two Kerala nuns in human trafficking-conversion case
Principal District and Sessions Judge (NIA court) Sirajuddin Qureshi had reserved the order on their bail pleas after a hearing on Friday.
The court has granted conditional bail to the trio, defence lawyer Amrito Das said.
Catholic nuns Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis, both from Kerala, along with Sukaman Mandavi, were arrested at the Durg railway station on July 25, following a complaint from a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who accused them of forcibly converting three girls from Narayanpur and trafficking them, a railway police official had said.
Following the bail hearing on Friday, Mr. Das had said that the prosecution had not asked for the trio's custody for interrogation, and the alleged victims had been sent back to their homes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
12 hours ago
- The Hindu
The race for the Catholic vote in Kerala
On July 25, when the Chhattisgarh police arrested two nuns from Kerala on charges of forced conversion and trafficking, political parties in the southern State sprang into action. In a rare, united show of urgency, the LDF and the UDF dispatched separate delegations to Chhattisgarh. The BJP is in power in Chhattisgarh; yet its Kerala unit also sent a team, determined not to be outdone. All their efforts paid off as the nuns were finally granted bail by an NIA court. This wasn't the first time that Christian missionaries from Kerala faced legal trouble or vigilante hostility in north India. However, what set this case apart, and gave it sharp political resonance, was that the nuns were Catholic. Their detention triggered anger, coming as it did just months ahead of two elections: one to the local bodies and another to the Assembly. As Kerala's third largest demographic group after Hindus and Muslims, Christians, especially Catholics, have long wielded significant influence in the State — not just in education, healthcare, and charitable initiatives, but also in politics and policymaking. However, in the last few years, the community appeared to drift to the political margins. Attention turned inwards, with growing concerns over issues such as the massive wave of youth migration to the West. The Chhattisgarh episode thrust the Church back into the spotlight even as there remains ambiguity about its political alignment. Historically, the Catholic vote was regarded a pillar of support for the Congress-led UDF, especially in the central Travancore region. But that relationship began to weaken after the fall of the UDF government. The death of Kerala Congress patriarch K.M. Mani and of senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy further deepened the disconnect. The CPI(M)-led LDF was quick to seize the opportunity. By aligning with Kerala Congress (M), a splinter group with Catholic roots, it managed to break into the UDF stronghold in central Travancore. In the last Assembly elections, the LDF not only retained power, but also made significant inroads into Catholic-majority constituencies. The Church, however, did not remain silent. It challenged the LDF government on issues such as agrarian distress and wild animal attacks. Trying to reclaim lost ground, the Congress in May named Sunny Joseph, a Catholic leader with strong ties across the Catholic dioceses of central Travancore and Malabar, as head of the party in Kerala. As the Congress holds just three of the 21 seats in central Travancore, it is hoping that this appointment will lead to its political revival. Meanwhile, the BJP has been slowly cultivating the Catholic vote in Kerala. What began as an unspoken alignment on shared anxieties, such as 'love jihad' and 'narcotic jihad', gradually evolved into a strategic outreach effort. The party began inducting Christian leaders and building quiet channels with sections of the Church. In April 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Sacred Heart Cathedral Church in New Delhi and then met with top bishops in Kochi. However, the honeymoon was short-lived. The violence against churches in Manipur severely strained this fledgling alliance. The BJP then attempted course correction by echoing the Church's criticism of pro-Palestinian rhetoric from rival parties and by supporting the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council's call for greater political engagement from Christians. The Waqf Board land controversy in Munambam also helped the party attract segments of the Catholic clergy and laity. Recognising the growing political stakes, the Church has begun to assert itself more in public affairs. Yet beneath this assertion lies an internal dissonance. While a few clergy members appear willing to engage with the BJP, a large section remains cautious, primarily due to the party's ties with Hindutva groups known for anti-Christian rhetoric. Just as Kerala's political class started to realise that Catholic votes are in play, the Chhattisgarh episode unfolded. For the Catholic Church, the arrests served as a wake-up call about how its clergy and members are perceived, especially in parts of north and central India. The next two election cycles could determine how the Church chooses to position itself politically. For now, every party is on high alert, knowing that this once-reliable bloc is no longer guaranteed, but is very much worth fighting for.
Hindustan Times
15 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Men place bone in veg biryani to avoid paying bill at UP eatery
A group of young men were caught on camera trying to con a restaurant in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur into avoiding paying the bill by placing a meat bone in a plate of vegetable biryani. The incident occurred at the Biryani Bay restaurant at Shastri Chowk in the Cantonment Police Station area on the night of July 31.(X/@gharkekalesh) An official said that while police have intervened in the matter, no formal proceedings have been initiated since there has been no complaint. The incident occurred at the Biryani Bay restaurant at Shastri Chowk in the Cantonment Police Station area on the night of July 31. A group of eight to ten men went to the restaurant and ordered both vegetarian and non-vegetarian biryani. Shortly after their food was served, one of the men screamed that his veg biryani had a bone in it. ALSO READ | 'You're a Hindu. Aren't you ashamed?': Bajrang Dal member stops Ghaziabad delivery boy over meat order The restaurant immediately called the police, who calmed the customers down and called to examine the CCTV footage. What CCTV shows? The CCTV footage shows one of the men handing another a bone, who then secretively places it on the veg biryani plate. Restaurant owner Ravikar Singh also corroborated that the youths discreetly placed the bone into the veg biryani. Another video shows the men claiming to the restaurant staff that they found bones in their vegetarian food. "Veg mei haddi nikli hai. Koi safai nahi hai yaha pe," (We found bone in a veg dish, there is no cleanliness here) one of the men is heard saying in the video. They claim that there is no 'proper hygiene' at the eatery. However, Singh insisted that there is no chance of "contamination" as meat is cooked separately in his kitchen. "They clearly wanted to avoid paying the bill, which was around ₹5,000-6,000. Their actions were completely deliberate," Singh told the police. Cantonment Circle Officer Yogendra Singh said that "legal action is underway" in the case.
India.com
16 hours ago
- India.com
Malegaon Blast: Maharashtra Must Challenge Acquittal Verdict, Says Congress MLA Arif Masood
New Delhi: Congress MLA from Madhya Pradesh, Arif Masood, urged the Maharashtra government to file an appeal against the acquittal of all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit. Masood emphasized that terrorism has no religion and should not be associated with any faith. He cited the state government's recent decision to challenge the Bombay High Court's acquittal of 12 accused in the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts case, stating that similar action should be taken in the Malegaon case. "Terrorism has no religion, nor is it related to any Maharashtra government, which has announced that it would file an appeal against the acquittal of the 12 accused in the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts case by the Bombay High Court, should do the same thing in the Malegaon case too," said Arif Masood. Meanwhile, families of the Malegaon blast victims have expressed their intent to challenge the verdict of the special NIA court, which acquitted all the accused on July 31. Their lawyer, Shahid Nadeem, confirmed that some of the families will independently file appeals. He also criticized the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for not taking action against witnesses who turned hostile during the trial. The Maharashtra government had earlier approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Bombay High Court's acquittal in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case. In the Malegaon investigation, after the NIA took over from the ATS, it dropped charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), citing issues with how the provisions were applied. The 2008 Malegaon blast occurred on September 29 in the Nashik district, killing six people and injuring over 100. In its judgment, the special court not only acquitted all seven accused but also directed the government to pay compensation, Rs 2 lakh to the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 to the injured. The court found insufficient evidence to prove that Pragya Thakur owned the motorcycle allegedly used in the blast, noting that its chassis number had been erased. It also observed that Thakur had renounced worldly possessions two years before the incident.
