NIA court grants bail to two Kerala nuns held for alleged trafficking, conversion

NEW DELHI: A special NIA court in Bilaspur on Saturday granted bail to two Catholic nuns from Kerala who were arrested last week at Durg Railway Station on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis were taken into custody by Government Railway Police (GRP) on 25 July, following a complaint.The complaint alleged that the nuns were attempting to traffic and convert three tribal women from Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district under the guise of offering them employment.Sessions court refused to hear pleaEarlier this week, a sessions court in Durg dismissed their bail petitions, stating it had no jurisdiction under Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to human trafficking. The court directed the accused to approach the designated NIA court in Bilaspur instead.