On Saturday, July 26, two Catholic nuns from the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI)—Sister Preeti Mary and Sister Vandana Francis—were arrested at Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh along with Sukhman Mandavi, a youth from Narayanpur district. The group was accompanying three young women aged between 18 and 19, reportedly to Agra for domestic work. As per the report of The News Minute, despite the women being legal adults with valid identity documents and written parental consent, the nuns were charged under Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (trafficking of persons) and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act, 1968, for alleged forced religious conversion.
The arrest, which followed a public mob intimidation led by Bajrang Dal activists, is being widely condemned as a blatant case of targeted harassment of religious minorities under the guise of anti-conversion and trafficking laws.
Mob tip-off, not law, triggered arrest
The incident was triggered not by any formal complaint or police investigation, but by a train ticket examiner (TTE) at the station who questioned the group and then contacted local Bajrang Dal members rather than railway authorities. According to Father Sebastian Poomattam, Vicar General of the Raipur Archdiocese, who spoke with The News Minute, the women told the TTE they were travelling to Agra under the care of the nuns, and the nuns had their tickets. But soon, a Bajrang Dal mob gathered and began harassing the group.
The nuns were accompanying the women to secure employment as kitchen helpers in convents in Agra, with salaries between ₹8,000 and ₹10,000, as confirmed by Fr. Poomattam. “They were all over 18 and had consent letters from their parents,” he said, as reported in the The News Minute report.
Despite this, the railway police detained the group. Bajrang Dal activists gathered outside the police station and allegedly pressured authorities into registering an FIR. The women were later sent to a state-run shelter, while the nuns and the young man were remanded to judicial custody until August 8.
Police inaction against Bajrang Dal despite harassment
Sister Asha Paul, from the Congregation of the Holy Family in Delhi, alleged that no Church representative was permitted to meet the arrested nuns. “We believe the young women were coerced into changing their statements. The nuns had all required documents—IDs, consent letters—yet they were treated as criminals,” she said, as reported by The News Minute.
Multiple eyewitness accounts and Christian organisations confirmed that the nuns were publicly humiliated by Bajrang Dal members, led by Jyoti Sharma, even before their arrest, with police officers reportedly standing by. Videos shared by Anti-Christian Tracker Watch on social media show the group being harassed on the platform.
Before their arrest, the Catholic nuns were illegally detained, harassed, and humiliated by Bajrang Dal’s Jyoti Sharma and her team, all in full view of the police, who stood by in silence.
🛑No FIR against Jyoti Sharma yet.
Is this democracy or mobocracy? https://t.co/JdUCnb19NY pic.twitter.com/UnGevvou2q
— Anti Christian Tracker Watch – ACT India ✝️ (@ACTWatchIndia) July 27, 2025
Despite this, no FIR has been filed against Sharma or other members of the vigilante group.
Systematic targeting of Christians, say Church and civil society
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) condemned the arrests, stating that the women were legal adults, their travel was voluntary, and there was no evidence of conversion. “This is a violation of their constitutional rights. The Church will raise the issue on all appropriate platforms,” CBCI said in a press statement, as reported by The New Indian Express.
The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council’s (KCBC) Social Harmony and Vigilance Commission said the police action was based on “false and baseless allegations” from Bajrang Dal members. According to The New Indian Express, the KCBC warned that the incident fits a broader pattern of intimidation and misuse of anti-conversion laws to target religious workers. “This distressing incident is part of a broader and deeply troubling pattern of increasing hostility towards Christians and missionary personnel across various Indian states. The weaponisation of anti-conversion laws by extremist groups is not only unjust but also poses a serious threat to the constitutional rights of religious minorities in the country. We affirm that Catholic missionaries do not engage in forced conversions,” their official statement noted.
Notably, the United Christian Forum (UCF) had reported that incidents targeting Christians have surged from 127 in 2014 to 834 in 2024—a near sevenfold increase—highlighting what it called “a coordinated campaign of intimidation against minorities.”
Call for action
Congress leaders from Kerala sharply condemned the arrests. AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, highlighting that the present incident is a blatant case of mob intimidation and wrongful imprisonment. When written consent and documentation are ignored, and police act under pressure from fringe elements, it is a breakdown of law.
Attacks on minorities have seen a rampant increase under BJP-ruled States, be it Chhattisgarh, Odisha or MP.
The latest attacks by Bajrang Dal goons on 2 Catholic nuns in Durg, Chhattisgarh point to a tacit support for such hate crimes from the ruling establishment.
I have… pic.twitter.com/zcwSMVUHLJ
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) July 27, 2025
John Brittas, Member of Parliament from CPI-M, also addressed a letter to the Chhattisgarh CM stating that the arrest of Kerala nuns Sr. Vandana Francis & Sr. Preethi at Durg on baseless trafficking & conversion charges is a disgrace, and a blatant misuse of the law to target minorities.
The arrest of Kerala nuns Sr. Vandana Francis & Sr. Preethi at Durg on baseless trafficking & conversion charges is a disgrace. This is blatant misuse of the law to target minorities. Free the nuns & stop the hate campaign against those serving society! pic.twitter.com/JF0k839AjX
— John Brittas (@JohnBrittas) July 28, 2025
The KCBC has demanded intervention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers, stating: “The Centre must not stay silent. Mob rule cannot override constitutional rights. This is a moment of reckoning for India’s commitment to democracy and religious freedom.”
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