SHILLONG, July 29: Cabinet Minister AL Hek on Tuesday urged Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai to ensure the release of two Catholic nuns who were arrested from Durg Railway Station on July 25.
The two nuns were arrested following an FIR reportedly filed by members of the Bajrang Dal.
In a telephonic conversation with the Chhattisgarh CM, Hek requested the immediate release of the nuns. Following this, in a letter, senior BJP leader Hek “deep concern” over the arrest of the nuns and called for a fair investigation into the matter.
“With a deep sense of concern, I humbly request your good office for the immediate release of the said nuns and to take appropriate steps to interrogate the causes and ground realities of the matter,” the senior BJP leader stated.
Two Catholic nuns from the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI) were arrested at Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh on Saturday along with a young man, while accompanying three women aged between 18 and 19 from Narayanpur district. They were charged with human trafficking and religious conversion under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act, 1968.
Sukhman Mandavi, a resident of Narayanpur, along with two nuns, Preeti Mary and Vandana Francis, were the ones arrested. The nuns are originally from Kerala.
