"Hostile climate faced by minority communities": Left MPs seek Amit Shah's intervention in arrest of nuns in Chhattisgarh

New Delhi [India], July 31 (ANI): MPs from several Left Parties, including Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist), on Thursday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking his intervention in the arrest and ongoing custody of two Catholic nuns in Chhattisgarh.
The letter was signed by CPI(M) MPs including K Radhakrishnan, Amra Ram, R. Sachithanantham, A. A. Rahim, V Sivadasan and John Brittas.
CPI MP P. Sandosh Kumar also undersigned the letter sent to Shah.
The nuns, Sr Vandhana Francis and Sr Preethi Mary, were arrested on July 25 for allegedly being involved in human trafficking and forced conversions, charges that are being called baseless.
The MPs have condemned the incident, calling it an attack on religious freedom and an example of rising hostility towards minority communities in the country.
"The recent arrest and continued incarceration of two Catholic nuns from Kerala, Sr. Vandhana Francis and Sr. Preethi Mary, in Durg, Chhattisgarh, is not an isolated incident. It reflects the increasingly hostile climate faced by minority communities and those working selflessly among the most marginalised. The nuns, engaged in social and charitable work, were arrested on July 25 at Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh merely for accompanying three adult women from Jharkhand who were lawfully travelling to Agra for employment. All available reports indicate that the arrest was based on unsubstantiated and concocted allegations, seemingly made under pressure from a right-wing group that filed a false complaint alleging human trafficking and forced religious conversion," the letter reads.
"Notably, the women involved have reportedly not complained and have affirmed that they were travelling voluntarily. They were already practising Christians and had the consent of their parents. Yet, the police invoked the draconian provisions of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act and Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita to justify their arrest," the letter reads.
The MPs criticised the nuns' continued judicial custody, despite a lack of evidence and no criminal background.
"Following their arrest, the nuns were remanded to judicial custody, and their bail applications were rejected not on grounds of culpability, but on procedural technicalities. On 30 July, the Sessions Court at Durg declined to hear their plea, citing a lack of jurisdiction, and directed that the matter be placed before the Special NIA Court. Thus, the nuns, despite having no criminal background, not being apprehended in the act of any crime, and with no substantive evidence against them, continue to languish in custody due to procedural limbo and a disturbingly opaque invocation of harsh laws," the MPs said.
Further raising concerns over the incident, the MPs said that this arrest has caused widespread outrage in Kerala and across the country, adding that it caused immense pain and unrest among the Christian community and all those who believe in secularism, constitutional values, and justice.
They also highlighted a disturbing rise in violence and intimidation against Christian communities and humanitarian workers across India, citing over 500 reported incidents of violence against Christians in 2024 alone.
"This incident must also be viewed in the broader context of a disturbing rise in targeted violence, intimidation, coercion, and surveillance against Christian missionaries, pastors, and humanitarian workers across India. Be it the vandalism of churches, disruption of prayer meetings, or the arbitrary arrest of priests and mums there is a discernible tern of criminalizing religious identity and suppressing compassion driven work through axic mix of vigilante aggression and institutional apathy According to data compiled by the Unrated Christian Foruin, a staggering 534 incidents of violence against Christians were reported in 2024-averaging nearly 70 incidents per month, up from 733 in 2021," the letter reads. (ANI)