Overview

• Sisters Vandana Francis and Preeti Mary are in judicial remand at Durg Central Jail since July 27 and face a bail hearing on Monday.
• They were charged under human trafficking and forced conversion statutes following a Bajrang Dal complaint that they lured three women from Narayanpur to Agra for conversion.
• Church officials and the escorted women maintain they held valid parental consent letters, identity proofs and tickets and allege Bajrang Dal activists coerced testimony.
• Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai defended the arrests as a women’s safety issue, while Kerala BJP leaders have rejected the conversion claims and pledged legal support.
• Kerala’s BJP and opposition fronts, including UDF and LDF representatives, have sent delegations to Raipur to monitor proceedings and advocate for the nuns’ release.