2 Nuns Arrested in India on Charges of “forced conversions” - Bishops Denounce this as False Amid Growing Persecution of Christians

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India has denounced the arrest of two nuns in Agra on blatantly false charges of “forced conversions”. ‘Christian nuns are increasingly being followed by social agitators, who surround them at railway stations, incite the crowd and use offensive language.’ Appeal to local and central governments in Delhi to guarantee their safety. Rahul Gandhi: ‘This is BJP street justice. The two nuns must be released immediately.’

Two Catholic nuns were arrested on July 25 at Durg train station in Chhattisgarh, India, on charges of conversion and human trafficking. A young man who was with them was also arrested. The nuns, who had three Christian girls with them, were traveling to Agra, a town in northern Uttar Pradesh. The girls were traveling with them to work at a hospital. Members of the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu militant group, learned that the nuns were traveling through the train station through an informant. They accosted the nuns and the girls and pressured railway police to detain them. The nuns denied the accusations made against them and produced consent letters given by the parents of the three girls, who were from the Narayanpur district in Chhattisgarh.
AsiaNews reports that the case of the two nuns from Agra arrested on Friday in the state of Chhattisgarh at the railway station in Durg on charges of ‘forced conversions’ while - with the written consent of their parents - they were accompanying some adult girls who were already Christian to their new workplace, is not an isolated case.

This is stated in a note from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), which condemns ‘in the strongest terms the recent arrest and alleged physical assault,’ calling it ‘part of a worrying wave of harassment, false accusations and fabricated cases targeting nuns across the country.’

The bishops are concerned that ‘Christian religious women are increasingly being followed by social disrupters who surround them at railway stations, incite crowds and use offensive language. These actions,’ they write, ‘pose a serious threat not only to the dignity and modesty of these women, but also to their lives.’

The Bishops' Conference - defining these repeated incidents of harassment as a ‘serious violation of the Constitution’ - calls on local governments in Indian states to ‘ensure the safety of all women and take timely measures to prevent such incidents.’ It also appeals to the central government in Delhi, calling for urgent action.

‘Reaffirming its commitment to justice and the protection of minority rights,’ the statement concludes, ‘the Indian Bishops' Conference urges the authorities to take concrete measures to guarantee the rights and dignity of religious women and ensure their safety. It is committed to continuing to monitor the situation closely and to take all necessary action to safeguard minority communities in India.’

Meanwhile, the case of the two nuns is also causing debate in Indian politics. Today, Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Congress Party, also spoke out in their defence: ‘This is not justice, it is the rule of the BJP-RSS mob (the party and movements of the Hindu nationalist right, ed.),’ he wrote in a post on social media. ‘It reflects a dangerous pattern: the systematic persecution of minorities under this regime.’

Gandhi also recalled that members of his party protested in front of the Delhi Parliament over what happened in Chhattisgarh. ‘We will not remain silent. Religious freedom is a constitutional right,’ he said, calling for the immediate release of the arrested nuns and accountability for the injustice committed.

Sources: Asia News IT and https://www.persecution.org/2025/07/29/catholic-nuns-arrested-at-train-station-in-chhattisgarh/