Four arrested over nun rape in Orissa; Police official suspended

Officials confirmed the arrest of four people in connection with the rape of a Catholic nun, last month, when Hindu rioters indulged in large scale attacks against churches and clergies in Orissa.

The government of Orissa state also ordered an investigation by a senior police officer into the incident, said Chittaranjan Pati, the spokesman for the state's top elected official.

At least one police officer has been suspended, officials say.

The nun filed a police complaint on Aug. 24, alleging she was raped when a group of Hindu mob attacked a prayer hall in Kandhamal district. She told the police she was paraded naked after the rape.

After medical reports confirmed rape, police inspector K.N. Rao, was suspended for not acting on the complaint.

"We prepared the report immediately and called up the inspector the next day and even sent a reminder to him to collect the report," Sangeeta Mishra, one of the doctors who examined the nun told The Indian Express, accusing the inspector for not taking action.

The 29–year–old Catholic nun, working with the Divyajyoti Pastoral Centre at Kanjemandi village, alleged that she was dragged out of a Hindu man's house where she had taken shelter along with a 55–year–old priest, Father Thomas Chellantharayil.

She was taken to an abandoned house where she was raped by a member of the mob, she said in her complaint filed on 25 August.

The nun did not name anyone but said she could identify the victims if they were brought before her. The incident occurred while 12 policemen of Orissa State Armed Police camped in a school in front of the NGO.

Narrating the incident, Fr Thomas said, “I begged with them to leave her. In reply, they hit me with iron rod. They then poured kerosene over me, and prepared to set me on fire.”

"Just then, some of the attackers suggested I should be burned on the road, where more people could see me die. So they dragged me to the road and forced to kneel as they showered blows and abuses on me for over 10 minutes,” said Fr Thomas.

"After a while, the ravaged nun was brought out too. The mob had changed its mind again. They now wanted to burn both captives together, in Nuagaon, half a kilometre away."

“We were nearly naked as we were marched to Nuagaon. The beating and abuses never stopped. The police did nothing, than watching these atrocities," he added.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered a crime branch inquiry into the incident and asked the authorities to take stern action against the culprits irrespective of their position and clouts.