New Delhi/Raipur, Jul 28 (PTI) A deeply troubling case has emerged from Narayanpur district in Chhattisgarh, where three tribal girls were allegedly lured with false promises of nursing training and job opportunities and were being taken out of the state, officials said on Monday.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai reacted strongly to the incident, describing it as an “extremely serious” case of human trafficking and an “attempt” at religious conversion.
According to the initial information, the three girls from Narayanpur were handed over by a local man at Durg railway station to two nuns who were taking them to Agra, the officials said.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the girls were being “trapped in a carefully orchestrated web of deceit, under the guise of career advancement”, they said.
Two nuns, Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis, and a third person identified as Sukaman Mandavi were arrested from Durg railway station on July 25 following a complaint from a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who accused them of forcibly converting three girls from Narayanpur and trafficking them, a railway police official said on Sunday.
Chief Minister Sai said the matter is currently sub-judice and under investigation. The state government has taken it very seriously and is closely monitoring the developments, the officials said.
In a post on X, the chief minister wrote, “This is an extremely serious case concerning the safety of women. Our government is monitoring the situation with utmost vigilance. The daughters of Bastar are the pride of our culture and identity.” He said it is unfortunate that some individuals are allegedly trying to politicise the issue, when in fact it is fundamentally about the safety of daughters and the preservation of religious freedom.
Bastar, the region where the incident took place, is a cultural and historical stronghold of tribal communities in Chhattisgarh. Over the past few years, there has been growing concern over rising cases of alleged religious conversion and human trafficking in the area.
Many reports have surfaced in which women and adolescent girls were allegedly taken out of the state under the “pretence of education or employment and later subjected to exploitation or coerced religious conversion”, the officials said.
The state government has made it clear that strict action will be taken against anyone found guilty. If the investigation reveals a larger “nexus of organised human trafficking or a religious conspiracy”, the authorities will pursue the harshest legal consequences, they said.
Reiterating his firm stand, CM Sai said: “This is not a political issue — it is a matter of safety and dignity of our daughters. There will be zero tolerance for negligence in such cases.” PTI TKP ACB ACB KVK KVK
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