Kerala Nuns’ Case: Tribal Woman Says Statement Was Coerced, She Was Threatened to Lie

Chhattisgarh, July 31, 2025: In the wake of the arrest of two Kerala nuns on charges of forced conversion and trafficking in Chhattisgarh, a tribal woman named in the case has alleged that she was threatened and assaulted by a right-wing activist to falsely accuse the nuns. Speaking to The Indian Express, she recounted that during the ordeal, one of the nuns told their accusers, “Hit us, but not them,” trying to shield the women from harm. The woman said she had travelled with the group of her own free will and with her parents’ consent, but the police based the FIR on claims made by Bajrang Dal members, not on her account.

The 21-year-old tribal woman from Narayanpur has now alleged that she was threatened and assaulted by Jyoti Sharma, a woman associated with a right-wing organisation, and pressured into changing her statement.

“Please release all three (arrested accused), they are innocent,” the woman told over the phone after returning to her village on Wednesday, following five days in a Durg shelter home. She said she had willingly travelled to Durg railway station with Mandavi, with her parents’ consent, in hopes of taking up a job opportunity.

She claimed that Sharma, accompanied by members of the Bajrang Dal, assaulted her at the railway police station. “They took us to the railway police station. We were scolded a lot, and Jyoti Sharma hit me twice on the face. She said that if you do not follow what we say, we will put your siblings in jail and assault them. They wanted us to say that we were brought here forcibly. I told Sharma that I have come of my own will and have the consent of my parents. I said this inside the police station in the presence of two to three policemen,” she said.

Sharma, when contacted by The Indian Express, denied the assault. “I did not touch any one of them. When I reached, they were already inside the police station. Will the police allow me to touch them? I am hearing this allegation for the first time; earlier, they were saying I beat a nun, which is false.”

Explaining how she arrived at the scene, Sharma said, “One of the workers called me and said one of the women on platform number 1 was crying and wanted to go home. He called me and alerted me. I told him to take them to Durg GRP.” She described herself as a "Hindutvawadi who turns up wherever Hindutva needs saving".

Rishi Mishra, the Chhattisgarh coordinator for the Bajrang Dal, said, “A rickshaw driver associated with the Bajrang Dal overheard the conversation between the nuns and the women and suspected they were being trafficked, after which our workers reached the spot and gave a complaint to the GRP.” He clarified that Sharma is not affiliated with the Bajrang Dal but is part of the Durga Vahini Matrushakti.

The woman, who lives with her parents and four sisters, earns Rs. 250 a day as a daily wage labourer. She said she had completed education up to Class 10 and was looking for better job prospects when Mandavi, who attends her local church, told her about an opportunity.

“I used to cycle for nine kilometres every day for work. Mandavi offered me a job as a cook for the nuns and to look after patients (at a hospital in Agra). They promised Rs. 10,000 apart from food, clothes and shelter. I was happy,” she said.

She added that she met the nuns for the first time at the railway station on the day of the arrest. “I had met the nuns for the first time. When we were being assaulted, one of the nuns said, ‘Do not worry, I am here with you.’ She told the person beating us, ‘hit us, but not them’.”

When approached for comment on these claims, Chhattisgarh Director General of Police Arun Kumar Gautam said, “Matter is sub judice.”

Srs. Preeti Marry and Vandana Francis, both Catholic nuns, and Sukhman Mandavi were arrested last Friday at Durg railway station following a complaint filed by a local Bajrang Dal worker. The First Information Report (FIR) was registered under provisions of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. The complainant accused the trio of forcibly converting three tribal women from Narayanpur district and attempting to traffic them out of the state.

Kerala Nuns’ Case: Tribal Woman Says Statement Was Coerced, She Was Threatened to Lie

Latest News