Durg Nuns Arrest: Tribal Women Petition Women’s Commission Against Bajrang Dal

Chhattisgarh, August 21, 2025: Three young tribal women from Narayanpur, who were identified as the alleged victims in a human trafficking case that led to the arrest of two Kerala nuns and a Narayanpur resident last month, have approached the State Women’s Commission. They have sought action against Bajrang Dal members for subjecting them to mental and physical harassment.

According to a lawyer representing the women, the first substantive hearing took place in Raipur on Wednesday evening (20 August 2025).

Advocate Phool Singh Kachlam, who represented the three tribal women, told _The Hindu_ that the women had been mistreated by Bajrang Dal members at the railway station and had turned to the Commission after failing to get a police complaint registered. “The women aged between 19 and 24 years have said that they were accompanying the nuns willingly and had been following Christianity. At the railway station, they were subjected to objectionable comments and were touched inappropriately besides being subjected to casteist slurs,” he said.

In their applications, which document these claims, the women requested strong legal action against Jyoti Sharma, Ratan Yadav, and Ravi Nigam (the complainant in the case against the nuns).

Mr. Kachlam further stated that the Commission had issued notices to both the activists involved and the families of the women. “Among those called were Bajrang Dal members Sharma, Yadav, and Nigam. While Sharma appeared briefly in the morning, she left before proceedings began and was absent during the formal hearing. Taking a stern view, the Commission directed that Sharma and all other parties must be present in the next round. A fresh notice will be issued to ensure mandatory attendance,” a statement shared by Mr. Kachlam added.

On 25 July, Sisters Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis from Kerala, along with Sukaman Mandavi from Narayanpur, were arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Durg station after a complaint was filed by a Bajrang Dal member. The complaint accused them of forcibly converting the three young tribal women and trafficking them, an allegation that the women have consistently denied. The arrests triggered major protests by politicians in Kerala.

Source: The Hindu

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