Horror at nun’s gang-rape

The brutal Assault of a 74-year-old religious sister has stirred countrywide protests with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing “deep concern” over the crime during an acrimonious debate in Parliament on Tuesday. The nun, who has not been named, was gang-raped and the chapel of her convent desecrated during the early hours of 14 March after masked men broke into the Jesus and Mary Congregation convent school at Ranaghat, 75 kms from Kolkata.

Police have detained 10 people in connection with the crime, and images of the culprits were captured on the school CCTV cameras, but no formal charges had been laid when The Tablet went to press.

Bishop Joseph Soren Gomes of Krishnagar quoted the nun’s words after visiting her in hospital for a second time on Monday, after she underwent surgery on Saturday. “Justice should be done. This should never be repeated or happen to anyone else,” he reported her as saying.

The Archbishop of Kolkata Thomas D’Souza urged all the parishes in his diocese to join protest rallies on Monday.

Bishop Gomes told The Tablet on Tuesday that Hindus and Muslims were “disgusted” and hundreds of them joined protests in different locations.