Conversion case: Nuns on bail call upon Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar

New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 16 (IANS) Exactly two weeks after they were released on bail by a special NIA court in Bilaspur, the two nuns, along with their relatives, called on Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Delhi on Saturday.

Present on the occasion was Kerala BJP general secretary Anoop Antony.

Speaking to the media soon after the meeting, Antony said the visit was to thank the BJP and the state party president.

"They (nuns) raised their concerns, and after hearing them, our president has assured the nuns and their relatives that the party will be with them as they go forward tackling the case," said Antony.

A relative of the nun, Byju said they came to express their thanks for the efforts taken by the state BJP president.

He also briefed the Kerala BJP president about their (nuns') concerns about the case, as it was registered by the NIA.

They briefed Chandrasekhar on the need to make efforts to quash the FIR that has been registered.

Incidentally, on August 2, after spending eight days in jail, the two Kerala nuns walked out of Central Jail in Durg, Chhattisgarh, after a special NIA court in Bilaspur granted them bail in a case involving charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.

Among those who were waiting outside to receive them were Chandrasekhar, lawmakers from Kerala, including Jose K. Mani, John Brittas, Santhosh Kumar, Roji M. John, Anwar Sadath, Chandy Oommen, and a few colleagues of the two nuns.

Their ordeal began on July 26 when the two, who were working at a hospital in Agra, were escorting three women from Narayanpur district in Chhattisgarh to Agra for employment as kitchen helpers in a convent.

They were stopped at a railway station by Bajrang Dal activists, who alleged forced religious conversion and human trafficking.

Acting on the activists' complaint, police arrested the nuns and a man named Sukhman Mandavi, accusing them of human trafficking and attempted religious.

All three are now out on bail.

–IANS

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