Three people, including two Catholic nuns, were arrested in Durg, Chhattisgarh, on Friday for alleged human trafficking, with police saying there were also suspicions of forced religious conversion. According to the Government Railway Police (GRP), the nuns—identified as Preeti Marry and Vandana Francis—and a local woman named Sukhman Mandavi were taken into custody under BNS Section 143 (trafficking of persons) and sent to 14-day judicial custody.
Police said the group was stopped at Durg railway station while traveling with three young women, aged 18 to 20, from Narayanpur district in south Bastar. They were reportedly planning to go to Agra for “training and job opportunities.”
Members of the Bajrang Dal claimed they noticed the nuns and intervened. “The nuns had come to Durg merely a day before without any valid reason. They were about to board a train along with the rescued girls to Agra when we spotted them,” said Bajrang Dal leader Ravi Nigam. The group then staged a protest outside the GRP station, demanding strict action.
Christian community members also arrived at the station to defend the nuns, insisting they were being wrongly targeted.
The three young women have been placed at the Sakhi One Stop Centre in Durg while investigations continue.
Meanwhile, Congress MP K C Venugopal wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, calling for action against those he described as “attackers.” He argued that incidents like this reflect growing hostility toward minorities in BJP-ruled states.
“The latest attacks by Bajrang Dal goons on two Catholic nuns in Durg, Chhattisgarh, point to a tacit support for such hate crimes from the ruling establishment,” Venugopal said in a post on X. “The government must protect constitutional rights and ensure religious freedom.”
