Raipur: In a significant turn in the controversial arrest of two Malayali Catholic nuns in Chhattisgarh, the girl who was traveling with them at the time has openly denied all allegations of force or coercion. Her clear testimony directly contradicts the charges of human trafficking and religious conversion slapped against the nuns by authorities in Durg.
The video of the young girl’s interaction with a local journalist has surfaced, where she asserts that she and her companion were traveling voluntarily with full parental consent, and that they have been practicing Christians for the past five years. When asked pointedly by the journalist if they were being taken by force, the girl replied: “No, there was no force... no one forced us. We are going of our own free will.” She added that they were accompanying the nuns for domestic work, specifically cooking, at a Church-run institution.
The journalist further probed about their religious beliefs. The girl clearly stated, “We do not believe in Buddha (a tribal deity). Neither I nor my parents believe in him. We have been believing in Jesus for five years.” Her calm and consistent answers appear to contradict the premise of the FIR, which accuses the nuns of forcibly converting and trafficking the girls.
The nuns, Sister Vandana Francis from Udayagiri parish in Thalassery, Kannur, and Sister Preethi Mary from Elavoor parish in Angamaly, both belong to the Sisters of Mary Immaculate congregation based in Assisi. They were arrested on July 25 by the Railway Police in Durg and later remanded to jail. The case against them includes serious and non-bailable charges under anti-conversion and human trafficking laws — laws which many human rights observers argue are increasingly being misused to target Christian missionaries.
The video testimony has added momentum to widespread protests and outrage within the Christian community in Kerala and across India. Church leaders, youth movements, and legal experts have rallied behind the nuns, demanding an immediate withdrawal of what they call “false and fabricated charges.”
This development not only undermines the police’s version of events but also raises deeper concerns about communal profiling, misuse of laws, and the increasing vulnerability of minority groups in certain regions of the country. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and several civil society organizations are expected to use the girl’s testimony as evidence to push for the nuns’ release and a fair legal investigation into the matter.
As the video continues to circulate widely across social media platforms, pressure is mounting on the Chhattisgarh government to re-examine the case and ensure that justice is not clouded by ideological bias or communal agenda.