Amid recent uproar over the arrest of two Keralite nuns in Chhattisgarh, two other nuns previously arrested by the Kerala Railway Police in 2021 on human trafficking charges have now been discharged.
The two nuns were detained at Thrissur railway station on September 21, 2021, when they came to receive three girls brought from Jharkhand by the Dhanbad-Alappuzha Express. The girls were being brought to work as domestic helpers at the convents where the nuns were employed.
The accused nuns are Sister Jolly Jose Kundukulangara (also known as Sister Jitha), 59, from St Joseph’s Convent, Ambakkad, and Sister Tessy P L (also called Sister Teslin), 57, from Fatima Convent, Poomala, both in Thrissur. Along with them, three other accused—Amalesh Oraon (29), Niraj Oraon (28), and Shanthi Kumari (25), all from Jharkhand—were charged.
The case was initiated based on a report by a member of the Thrissur railway childline helpdesk. The girls were initially sent to Snehitha Help Desk before being returned home.
While some accused secured anticipatory bail and were released after arrest, two were remanded in custody briefly.
However, the first additional sessions judge of Thrissur, K Kamanees, discharged all accused due to lack of evidence. The judge stated the prosecution failed to establish any coercion, abduction, fraud, or abuse. There was no evidence that the girls were transported under threat or deception, nor was there proof of slavery or servitude. The court noted the survivors did not allege receiving any inducements or facing coercion.
