Daijiworld Media Network – Shillong

Shillong, Aug 1: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has written to his Chhattisgarh counterpart Vishnudeo Sai, demanding the immediate release of two Kerala nuns—Sisters Preeti Mary and Vandana Francis—arrested on allegations of forced religious conversion and human trafficking. Sangma described their detention as “shocking” and based on “unfounded allegations,” urging a fair and impartial probe and calling for the withdrawal of the case if it is indeed false.

In his letter, the Chief Minister warned that religious persecution has no place in a democratic and secular India, stating that such accusations endanger innocent lives and signal a troubling pattern of targeting minorities. “Justice must prevail. Intolerance must not,” he wrote, also pressing for protection of minority rights.

The nuns, along with Sukhman Mandavi, were taken into custody by the Government Railway Police at Durg railway station on July 25 following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary. They have been booked under Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968, for alleged forced conversion, and Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for trafficking.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India has sought intervention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Catholic Christians in Meghalaya have submitted petitions demanding justice. Nationwide protests over the arrests continue.

One of the three girls reportedly “rescued” in the case has now claimed she was travelling with the nuns voluntarily to Agra to work as a cook, and alleged that Bajrang Dal members assaulted her.