Bilaspur: The two nuns from Kerala who were arrested for human trafficking and forced religious conversion in Chhattisgarh were released from Durg jail after a special NIA court in Chhattisgarh on Saturday granted bail to them. After walking out of jail around 3.30 pm on Saturday, they reportedly headed to a nearby convent attached to Viswadeepam Senior Higher Secondary School with their family members, a group of sisters and priests. 

Kerala BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MLAs Chandy Oommen, Roji M John,  MPs John Brittas and Jose K Mani arrived at Durg prison to welcome the nuns who were jailed for the past nine days.

The Special NIA court granted bail to the nuns and another person on the conditions that their passport be surrendered, two persons stand as sureties, and a bond of ₹50,000 each be furnished.

Nuns Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis, along with Sukaman Mandavi, were arrested on July 25 by railway police at Durg railway station following a complaint filed by a local Bajrang Dal functionary. The complaint accused them of trafficking and forcibly converting three tribal girls from Narayanpur district.

Principal District and Sessions Judge (NIA court) Sirajuddin Qureshi granted them bail also on condition that they don't leave the country.

"They will also have to cooperate in the investigation," defence lawyer Amrito Das said, adding that there were a few more conditions, but the final order was yet to be received.

Das added that the prosecution had not asked for the trio's custody for interrogation, and the alleged victims had been sent back to their homes.

Talking to reporters, public prosecutor Dauram Chandravanshi also confirmed that bail has been granted to the nuns and one other person, with certain conditions.

The arrests sparked a political row, with opposition parties raising the issue in Parliament earlier this week. A delegation from the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in Kerala visited Raipur on Friday to meet the two nuns. The Congress has alleged that referring the case to an NIA-designated court was a deliberate move to delay bail.

Meanwhile, the three alleged victim women in the case arrived at the office of the Superintendent of Police in Narayanpur district headquarters seeking to lodge an FIR against Bajrang Dal activists for allegedly assaulting them and forcing them to give false statements against nuns before the Durg GRP.