New Delhi: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday defended the arrest of two Kerala-based nuns on charges of religious conversion and trafficking, stating that “the law is doing its job”. His comments come amid growing political backlash from opposition parties over the incident.

The CM, who was seen outside Parliament on Friday, is reported to have been summoned by the BJP leadership to discuss the political fallout of the arrests.

Sisters Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis, both from Kerala, along with Sukhman Mandavi, were arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Durg railway station on July 25. The arrests followed a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who accused the trio of attempting to forcibly convert and traffic three tribal women from the Narayanpur district.

The case has sparked a political controversy, with the Congress and the CPM accusing the BJP-led state government of targeting minority communities under the guise of law enforcement. Chief Minister Sai, however, dismissed the allegations, saying the opposition was “politicising the matter”.

Meanwhile, a sessions court in Durg district on Wednesday declined to entertain the bail pleas of the accused, ruling that it lacked jurisdiction in the case. The court directed the petitioners to approach the special NIA court for relief.

In their bail plea, the accused claimed the three tribal women were already practising Christianity and were voluntarily accompanying them to Agra, asserting that no conversion or trafficking had taken place.

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