Durg: A delegation of leaders of the Congress-led UDF alliance in Kerala on Tuesday visited the Durg central jail in Chhattisgarh and met two Catholic nuns arrested for alleged human trafficking and forced religious conversion.
The delegation later also met Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai who assured them that the matter would be investigated thoroughly.
Nuns Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis along with Sukaman Mandavi were arrested at Durg railway station on July 25 following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary who accused them of forcibly converting three girls from Narayanpur and trafficking them.
The UDF delegation included Lok Sabha MPs Benny Behanan of the Congress, N K Premachandran of the RSP and K Francis George of Kerala Congress-Joseph and Roji M John, a Congress MLA besides some other Kerala Congress leaders. Saptagiri Ulaka, a Congress MP from Odisha, also accompanied them.
Talking to reporters outside the jail premises, Premchandran claimed that the nuns were innocent.
“We were allotted time to meet the nuns at 12.30 pm, but not allowed (to go in) as a BJP delegation from Kerala also arrived. After the BJP delegation met them, we were allowed to meet. We staged a protest outside the jail,” Premchandran said.