‘Sisters Are Innocent’: Families of Tribal Women Defend Nuns Held in Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh, July 29, 2025 – Family members of three tribal women have come forward to assert the innocence of two Keralite nuns and a local man arrested in Narayanpur district on allegations of human trafficking and forcible religious conversion. “The sisters are innocent. Even the boy is being framed, we sent our sisters with him,” said the elder sibling of one of the women, refuting the police’s claims.

The women’s kin told The Hindu on Monday that the three had travelled willingly with the nuns and local resident Sukaman Mandavi to pursue job opportunities. “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,” she explained in a phone call from the Durg police station.

The younger sister of another woman, speaking from Narayanpur, also demanded the release of the nuns, confirming that her sister had voluntarily left home on 24 July. She added that their family had embraced Christianity five years ago.

Nuns Preeti Mary and Vandana Francis, along with Sukaman Mandavi, were arrested on 25 July after a Bajrang Dal member, Ravi Nigam, filed a police complaint alleging they were taking three women to Agra under suspicious circumstances. The arrest took place at Durg railway station, where Mr. Mandavi had allegedly handed over the women to the two nuns.

Despite the families’ statements and a written submission to Narayanpur Police on 26 July—where they confirmed they were aware the women were going for job placements—Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai defended the arrests. “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 claimed during a press interaction on Monday.

The Chief Minister also alleged that concerns over women’s safety were being “given a political colour.”

The arrests sparked widespread protests across the country—from Delhi to Kerala—on Monday, with civil society groups and Church organisations voicing outrage.

While senior police officers have not issued any formal statement, a Government Railway Police (GRP) official mentioned they are continuing to gather corroborative evidence to support the charges.

‘Sisters Are Innocent’: Families of Tribal Women Defend Nuns Held in Chhattisgarh

Latest News