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.

Indian Jesuit Father Richard D’Souza, the new director of the Vatican Observatory, says he will continue the tradition of Vatican astronomers who demonstrated how science and faith can co-exist. The 47-year-old Jesuit from western Goa state said he stands “on the shoulders of giants who have served before,” and the job is to lead the Observatory “in promoting dialogue between faith and science.” He told on Aug. 4 that the Observatory “is inter-nationally recognized because of the quality of our research and the renowned month-long biennial summer schools that we organi-ze.” Pope Leo XIV appointed D’Souza on July 31 to succeed Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, who ends his 10-year term as the director of the Observatory on Sept. 19.
D’Souza, who joined the Observatory in 2016, wants to ensure that the Observatory “continues to serve the Pope and the Universal Church, promoting the dialogue between faith and science, through solid scientific research.” He said the Observa-tory, one of the world’s oldest as-tronomical institutions, continues to be independent and does not accept funding from international agencies or global science foundations of major powers.
The Vatican Observatory was engaged in several research projects aimed at advancing discoveries in astronomy and space science. In June this year, a special committee of the International Astronomical Union named an asteroid after D’Souza in honour of his research on the merger histories of galaxies. This asteroid was discovered by K. Cernis and Jesuit Father R. P. Boyle with the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope on Mount Graham in 2012. Founded in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, the Observatory aims to conduct research encompassing stars, meteorites, galaxies, cosmology, and the early universe, while fostering dialogue among science, theology, and the Church’s intellectual tradition.

Congress leader and Member of Parliament, Hibi Eden, has submitted a notice for an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha, calling for a discussion on the recent alleged attack on two Catholic priests, a catechist, and two nuns by approximately 70 Bajrang Dal members in Jaleswar, Odisha. In a letter addressed to the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha, Eden wrote, “I hereby give notice of my intention to ask for leave to move a motion for the adjournment of the business of the House… To discuss the recent brazen attack on two Catholic priests, a catechist, and two nuns by around 70 Bajrang Dal members in Jaleswar, Odisha.” Eden alleged that the attackers falsely accused the church members of religious conversion and assaulted them. He termed the incident as “communal abuse” and stated, “The attackers falsely accused them of religious conversions and subjected them to physical assault and communal abuse. Given the gravity of the incident and its implications for communal harmony, I request the House to adjourn its business to discuss this matter.”
In his letter, Eden outlined the key points for discussion: condemnation of the violent attack, assurance of justice for the victims, measures to ensure the safety and security of minority communities and religious personnel, and action against the perpetrators to ensure accountability. Separately, Congress MP Manickam Tagore submitted a notice for an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha, demanding an urgent discussion on the arrests of individuals who were allegedly detained at Lodhi Colony Police Station, South District of New Delhi, for speaking in Bengali.

In a disturbing and brazen attack, around 70 Bajrang Dal members ambushed and assaulted two Catholic priests, a catechist, and two nuns near Gangadhar village ( mission station) under Jaleswar Parish, falsely accusing them of religious conversions. The shocking incident occurred on August 6, when Fr. Lijo Nirappel, Parish Priest of Jaleswar, and Fr. V. Jojo of Joda Parish in the Diocese of Balasore, visited Gangadhar mission station for a requiem Mass marking the second death anniversary of two local Catholic men. Accompanied by two nuns and a catechist, the group arrived at the village around 5 p.m. The Mass and fellowship meal began after 6:00 p.m., once villagers returned from their fields during the ongoing planting season.
But as they were leaving the village later that evening around 9 p.m., their peaceful pastoral visit turned into a nightmare. “Hardly half a kilometre away from the village, in a narrow forested stretch of road, a mob of about 70 Bajrang Dal men lay in wait,” Fr. Lijo told. “They first targeted our catechist who was on a motorcycle. They beat him mercilessly, dismantled his bike, drained the fuel, and threw it aside.” The attackers then turned on the priests’ vehicle, stopping it by force and hurling communal abuses. “They physically attacked us—pushing, pulling, and beating us badly. They punched us, snatched our mobile phones, and kept shouting that we were trying to make them Americans—converting them by force,” Fr. Lijo recounted, “they screamed: ‘Those BJD days are over, now it’s BJP’s rule—you cannot make Christians anymore.’”
Despite women from the village pleading with the mob and clarifying that the priests and nuns were invited for a prayer service, the attackers continued their assault. The priests alleged that the group hurled communal slurs and falsely accused them of conversions in front of self-invited media personnel who had accompanied the Bajrang Dal members. “It was a planned ambush,” said Fr. Lijo. “They brought their own media to fabricate a narrative.” About 45 minutes into the ordeal, a team of police officers—including a female constable and two male officers—arrived on the scene. However, even in the presence of the police, the mob continued their tirade. Fr. Lijo informed the police that their mobile phones had been forcibly taken by the assailants, but no one in the mob admitted to having them or returned them. The incident has sent shockwaves through the local Christian community and raised serious concerns over rising religious intolerance and mob violence in Odisha.