Two Kerala nuns, arrested in human trafficking-conversion case, granted bail by Chhattisgarh court

A Special NIA court in Bilaspur on Saturday granted bail to three people, including two nuns from Kerala, who were arrested in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district in an alleged case of forced conversion and human trafficking.

The accused Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis, along with Sukaman Mandavi, had been arrested last Friday at the Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh, according to a report by the Indian Express.

A local Bajrang Dal member had alleged that the trio had trafficked and forcibly converted three young tribal women from Narayanpur district, according to the Hindustan Times.

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, according to PTI.

Following the bail hearing on Friday, 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.

(With inputs from PTI)