Bengal: 56 women being trafficked rescued from Patna-bound train, 2 traffickers arrested
The operation was carried out by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP). The suspected traffickers were nabbed at the New Jalpaiguri railway station on Monday.
'The rescue operation took place aboard Train No. 13245 DN, the New Jalpaiguri-Patna Capital Express. RPF officials along with RPF and GRP personnel conducted an intensive check on the train,' read an official statement.
The officials said they became suspicious when they observed a large group of young women travelling together. Upon questioning, glaring inconsistencies were found in the travel plans of the women, aged between 18 and 31.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
11 hours ago
- New Indian Express
After arrest of nuns, political row in Chhattisgarh
RAIPUR: A case of alleged human trafficking and religious conversion got political colour on Monday following the arrest of three, including two Catholic nuns—Sisters Preeti Marry and Vandana Francis—from Kerala in Chhattisgarh's Durg. 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.'
Time of India
15 hours ago
- Time of India
Two nuns held in Chhattisgarh over 'conversion bid, trafficking'
RAIPUR: Three people, including two nuns, were arrested from Durg station in BJP-governed Chhattisgarh on charges of trafficking three tribal girls, all under 23, from Maoist-affected Narayanpur and attempting their religious conversion under the guise of giving them nursing jobs in Agra. The arrests on July 25 followed a complaint from a Bajrang Dal worker, sparking a political storm with Congress alleging that minorities were being targeted under the BJP-led administration. But CM Vishnu Deo Sai justified the action, claiming this was a case of "human trafficking under the guise of religious conversion". Those arrested were identified as Sister Preeti Mary (45) and Sister Vandana Francis (50), both from a Kerala denomination, and Sukaman Mandavi (19) from Narayanpur. A GRP official claimed the tribal women were brought to Durg station by Mandavi without intimation to gram panchayat officials in their Narayanpur village and written consent from their parents. The three accused were produced before a local court and sent to jail on judicial remand. The tribal women were sent to Sakhi Centre, a govt shelter. Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi alleged that arrests pointed to "BJP-RSS mob rule". "Two Catholic nuns jailed in Chhattisgarh after being targeted for their faith. This isn't justice. It reflects a dangerous pattern, systematic persecution of minorities. We demand their immediate release," he said on X.
The Hindu
19 hours ago
- The Hindu
Nuns are innocent, say family members of tribal women
Days after the Chhattisgarh Police arrested three persons, including two Keralite nuns, on charges of trafficking and forcibly converting a few tribal women, the latter's family members have denied the police claim. The kin said the women accompanied the nuns and a man from Narayanpur of their own volition, and that they are innocent. However, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, on Monday (July 28, 2025), backed the arrests, saying that 'through inducement, an attempt was being made [by the arrested persons] to engage in human trafficking and conversion'. The arrest sparked widespread protests from Delhi to Kerala on Monday (July 28, 2025). Nuns Preeti Mary and Vandana Francis, and Sukaman Mandavi from Narayanpur were arrested on July 25 after a local Bajrang Dal member, Ravi Nigam, filed a complaint with the police, saying that Mr. Mandavi had brought three women to the Durg railway station, from where they had to go to Agra with the two nuns. 'They are being framed' Speaking to The Hindu over the phone on Monday (July 28, 2025) evening, the sisters of two of the women rejected claims of forceful conversion, and said they themselves had consented to be taken to Agra for a job. Their family members did not have any objections either, they said. 'Our parents are no longer alive and I sent my sister with the nuns so that she could take up a nursing job in Agra. I myself had taken up a job with them in Lucknow and I realised a similar move would help her to become self-reliant. And my sister was completely in agreement. The sisters [nuns] are innocent. Even the boy [Mandavi] is being framed, we sent our sisters with him,' said the elder sister of one of the three women over phone from a police station in Durg. The younger sister of another woman who was in Narayanpur also demanded the release of the nuns and said her sister left home on July 24, and that the family had converted to Christianity five years ago. In a related development post the arrests, all three families gave a written submission to the Narayanpur Police on July 26 saying that they were aware that the women were being taken for jobs, said Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Robinson Guria. On the question of families' consent and the basis for arrest, a Government Railway Police (GRP) officer said they were in the process of gathering corroborative evidence. Safety issue, says CM Even as senior police officers in the GRP or the State police were unavailable for comment, the Chief Minister backed the move and claimed the issue of women's safety was being given a 'political colour'. 'Three daughters from Narayanpur were promised nursing training and subsequent job placements. They were handed over to two nuns at the Durg station by a person from Narayanpur, who were taking the girls to Agra. Through inducement, an attempt was being made to engage in human trafficking and conversion,' Mr. Sai said. 'This is a serious matter related to women's safety. The investigation is still ongoing. The matter is under judicial review, and the law will take its course.' 'Chhattisgarh is a peaceful State where people of all religions and communities live in harmony. It is extremely unfortunate to give a political colour to the issue related to the safety of our Bastar daughters,' he wrote on X.
