'Human trafficking' case: Victim alleges coercion by Bajrang Dal, claims arrested nuns innocent

Narayanpur: A victim of an alleged human trafficking and forceful conversion, in which two nuns have been arrested in Chhattisgarh, has alleged she was coerced and assaulted by Bajrang Dal activists to give a false statement, a charge denied by the right wing outfit.

The police also did not record her statement properly, 21-year-old Kamleshwari Pradhan claimed, adding her family has been following Christianity for the last four-five years.

The tribal woman, whose parents are farmers, also claimed the two nuns and another person arrested in the case were innocent and said they should be released from jail.

However, Bajrang Dal Durg unit convener Ravi Nigam denied all the allegations.

"We have neither threatened nor beaten anyone. There are CCTV cameras installed at the railway station, the truth will come out through them," he told PTI.

Nuns Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis, both from Kerala, along with Sukhman Mandavi were arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Durg railway station in the state on July 25 following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who accused them of forcibly converting three women from the tribal-dominated Narayanpur district and trafficking them.

Talking to PTI at her village Kukrajhor in Abujhmad area of Narayanpur, Pradhan claimed she was not being trafficked as she was going along with them at her own will and with her parents' consent.

"I was going to Agra with the nuns with the consent of my parents. From there, we were about to go to Bhopal where we were to be given work at a Christian hospital. We were promised Rs 10,000 salary per month along with food, clothes and accommodation," she said.

Pradhan recounted that she, Mandavi and two other women from Orchha area of the district reached Durg station early morning on July 25.

"The nuns, whom I had never met before, arrived a few hours later there. Meanwhile, we were confronted by a person. Later, other persons from Bajrang Dal joined him. They started threatening, abusing and assaulting us," she said.

"The railway police then arrived and we were taken to the (GRP) police station where a woman, Jyoti Sharma, who identified herself as right-wing activist, slapped me and threatened me to change my statement. She told me to say I was taken by force. She said if I didn't, my brother would be jailed and beaten up," Pradhan alleged.

She also claimed the police did not take her "actual statement" and were "writing things which she never said".

"When I tried to speak, they told me to be quiet and asked if I wanted to go home," she said.

Pradhan, who has studied up to class 10, said she was working as a daily wage labourer and used to cycle around 10 km daily to reach the Narayanpur district headquarters to earn Rs 250 per day.

"Sukhman Mandavi, who told me about the job, is like a brother to me. We met through the church. Earlier, several women from the area had also gone to work in hospitals. Even a sister of Sukhman had worked outside in a Christian hospital and she later returned," she said.

Rejecting the allegations of conversion, she said, "My family has been following Christianity since the last four-five years. My mother used to remain ill. We took them to 'changai' sabha (healing meeting), since then she started recovering, after which we started following the faith." Pradhan claimed the two Catholic nuns and Mandavi were innocent and appealed to the state government to release them.

The arrest of the two Kerala-based nuns in the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh has triggered a political row, with the Congress and the CPI(M) strongly criticising the move.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, however, accused the opposition of "politicising the matter".

A sessions court in Durg district Wednesday said it does not have the jurisdiction to hear the bail application of the three accused.

In their application, the accused claimed the three tribal women who were to accompany them to Agra were already following Christianity, and hence there was no question of converting them.

Additional Sessions Judge Anish Dubey, while disposing of the bail pleas, said they will have to move a special NIA court for relief.