‘Coerced into giving false statements’: Women who accompanied Kerala nuns file complaint against Bajrang Dal over arrest

Durg (Chhattisgarh): Following the granting of bail to the nuns arrested on charges of human trafficking and religious conversion, the young women who were with them at the railway station have filed a complaint against the Bajrang Dal. The complaint demands that cases be registered against 25 individuals, including Bajrang Dal leader Jyoti Sharma.

The girls submitted the complaint at the office of the Superintendent of Police (SP) in Narayanpur. The nuns were earlier detained and arrested on the allegation that they were trafficking these women.

The girls, who belong to tribal communities in Narayanpur district, stated in their complaint that they were denied their right to freedom of movement, subjected to public humiliation and coerced into giving false statements. They alleged that they were wrongfully accused and that the entire episode was based on misinformation.

Accompanied by CPI leaders, the girls reached the SP office to submit their complaint.

They reiterated that they had come for employment—not for religious conversion—as they had clarified from the beginning. However, their statements were ignored, the nuns were humiliated and a 19-year-old boy who was with them was brutally assaulted, the girls alleged. These are among the concerns highlighted in the formal complaint they submitted.