Chhattisgarh deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma on Tuesday said the Government Railway Police had sufficient grounds to register a case against the two nuns from Kerala on charges related to religious conversion and human trafficking.
He also said that a new law will be enacted in the state "to keep society safe from evils" like forced religious conversion, and a bill will be introduced in the next assembly session.
Two nuns - Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis - were arrested along with a person identified as Sukaman Mandavi from the 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.
BJP's Kerala state unit general secretary Anoop Antony Joseph on Tuesday met Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Sharma, who also holds the Home portfolio, in Raipur to discuss the arrest of the two nuns.
Talking to reporters later, Sharma said, "The FIR was registered at the GRP police station at the Durg railway station, following which statements (apparently referring to alleged victims) were recorded. Based on those statements, it is clear that they (GRP) had sufficient grounds to file the case."
"The women from Abujhmad area (Narayanpur) were being taken by them (nuns) and some locals were also with them. The incidents (of human trafficking) have happened in the past, therefore it is a matter of investigation," he said.
The law is doing its job, he said.
The deputy CM said a new anti-conversion bill will be introduced in the next session of the state assembly.
Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968, is currently in force in the state to address the cases of forced conversions. A provision was made in 2006.
The then governor had referred that to the then President, but so far no final decision has been taken over it, he said, referring to the Chhattisgarh assembly passing an anti-conversion bill in 2006 during the then BJP government.
"Now, it's 2025 and 20 years have passed. Now new situations have unfolded, based on which a new law will be enacted with provisions to keep society safe from such evils (conversion)," he said.
According to him, the new anti-conversion bill will be tabled in the next session of state assembly.
A delegation of leaders of the Congress-led United Democratic Front alliance in Kerala on Tuesday afternoon visited the Durg central jail and met the two nuns.
Sharma said Kerala BJP general secretary Joseph met him and took details of the incident.
When asked about the delegation being allegedly stopped from meeting the arrested nuns in Durg Central Jail, and a subsequent protest, Sharma said, "If they staged a protest then it is nothing but just a drama".
"I spoke to Leader of Opposition in Chhattisgarh assembly and senior Congress leader Charan Das Mahant and he told me they wanted to meet me. Benny Behanan (a Congress MP who was part of the delegation), called me in the morning and I asked him to meet me at 1.30 pm. But he did not come till then. I again spoke to Mahant ji, he told me that they (the delegation) will first visit the jail and then come. I myself told (the jail authorities) and ensured their meeting. There is no issue in meeting," he said.
The UDF delegation included Lok Sabha MPs Benny Behanan of the Congress, N K Premachandran of the RSP and K Francis George of Kerala Congress-Joseph and Roji M John, a Congress MLA besides some other Kerala Congress leaders.
Talking to reporters outside the jail premises, Premchandran claimed that the nuns were innocent.
"We were allotted time to meet the nuns at 12.30 pm, but not allowed (to go in) as a BJP delegation from Kerala also arrived. After the BJP delegation met them, we were allowed to meet. We staged a protest outside the jail," Premchandran said.
The UDF delegation was allowed to go into the jail after 2 pm when former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel intervened, he said.