A special NIA court in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, has granted conditional bail to the two Catholic nuns from Kerala and a tribal man who were arrested on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion, July 25, 2025. The bail was granted (August 2) nine days after their arrest, following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary at Durg railway station.
The court’s decision, which required the accused to submit a bond of Rs. 50,000 each and surrender their passports, was met with relief by their supporters. However, the legal and political repercussions of the incident are far from over.
The bail was granted after the defense argued that the case was “absolutely baseless.” The court’s order noted that there was no prior criminal record against the accused and that the investigation was in a preliminary stage with no direct evidence of trafficking or forced conversion.
Crucially, the parents of the women, who were alleged to be the victims, submitted statements confirming that their daughters were adults, had been practicing Christianity for several years, and had left for Agra willingly with their consent for job opportunities. The court found that the allegations were based on “mere apprehension and suspicion.”
In a significant turn of events, the three women who were allegedly being trafficked have now filed a written complaint against Bajrang Dal members and a woman named Jyoti Sharma. The women accuse the group of assault, verbal abuse, and forcing them to give false statements to the police.
One of the women, Kamleshwari Pradhan, alleged that Jyoti Sharma slapped and threatened her, telling her to say she was being taken by force. She claimed that Sharma threatened to jail her brother if she didn’t comply. Videos have also surfaced on social media showing Sharma threatening the group inside the police station. While the police have acknowledged receipt of this complaint, no FIR has been registered against Jyoti Sharma or the other Bajrang Dal members yet.
