The authorities at the Durg Central Prison in Chhattisgarh have assured to shift the incarcerated and reportedly ailing Keralite nuns Vandana Francis and Preeta Mary of the order of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI) to the district hospital, according to members of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) delegation that visited the duo at the prison on Wednesday (July 30, 2025).
The Chhattisgarh police had arrested the nuns at the Durg railway station on July 25 after local activists of Bajrang Dal, a Hindu right-wing organisation, mobbed them on the charge of attempting to spirit away three women, including a tribal, to Agra for “forced conversion to Christianity”.
Kerala nuns’ arrest reignites political and ecclesiastical fault lines in State ahead of polls
The police have charged the nuns under Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for trafficking and under Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act, 1968. The charges entail imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of not less than ₹2 lakh.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) is set to move the District Sessions Court in Durg to secure bail for the nuns.
