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Following the release on bail of two Kerala nuns from a Chhattisgarh jail in a case involving allegations of human trafficking and forced religious conversion, many politicians from Kerala welcomed the court decision. The two nuns and a co-accused were arrested from the Durg railway station on July 25 after a complaint was filed by a local Bajrang Dal member. A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Bilaspur granted bail to the nuns and another co-accused on August 2.
Communist Party of India [CPI(M)] leader and Rajyasabha MP John Britas met the nuns and shared his happiness on X: “Met Sr Vandana Francis and Sr Preethi Mary at Vishwadeep Ashram near Infant Jesus Church in Durg after they were granted bail. Their brothers Joseph Mathew and Baiju (Angamaly) were with them. Sugman, who was brutally beaten and falsely accused of trafficking, is also now free,” he said.
Congress leader and MP KC Venugopal said the party welcomes the verdict and demanded that the First Information Report (FIR) against them be quashed immediately. He also demanded the arrest and strict punishment of the “Bajrang Dal goons” who attacked the nuns.
“The court has clearly noted that the adult girls accompanying the [nuns] were not at all forced, and two of them have been followers of Christianity since childhood. This proves that the entire proceedings were trumped up, and the FIR should be quashed immediately. Further, the Bajrang Dal goons who attacked the nuns must be arrested and given the strictest punishment. The bogey of religious conversion is nothing but a dogwhistle for the BJP and its goons to attack, torment, and humiliate Christians in India. Just like how we were at the forefront of this fight for justice, the Congress will always stand with the victims of this horrible hate campaign,” he wrote on X.
Kerala Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan said, “While the BJP in Chhattisgarh fans the flames of hate, Kerala BJP sheds crocodile tears. Kerala BJP’s hypocrisy is astounding. We’re not shaken by stones thrown at us, we will continue to stand firm for justice.”
