Raipur : A trio of tribal women, who were travelling with two Catholic nuns from Kerala in Chhattisgarh, have come forward to make shocking allegations against members of the Bajrang Dal and state police. The women, who were detained along with the nuns on charges of forced conversion and human trafficking, allege they were physically assaulted and threatened after being accused of joining the nuns without consent, reported the Madhyamam.
In a harrowing testimony, the girls—aged in their late teens—stated that Bajrang Dal local leader Jyoti Sharma ordered them locked in a room and beaten, with police reportedly present during the ordeal. The women further claim that members of Sharma’s group threatened to rape them if they did not comply.
The women insist they accompanied the nuns voluntarily, working as cooks on their own accord with parental consent. Tearfully, they rejected any involvement in religious conversion or trafficking and called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Jyoti Sharma for the alleged abuse.
A formal complaint naming Sharma and others accused of the alleged assault was reportedly filed online at Durg Police Station after an initial petition at Narayanpur Police Station remained unaddressed.
The nuns—Sister Vandana Francis and Sister Preeti (spelling variants Preeti/Preethy), along with the third woman, Sukaman Mandavi—were released on bail earlier in the week, each providing a ₹50,000 bond and surrendering their passports. A National Investigation Agency court has banned them from leaving India pending further inquiry.
