Bhubaneswar, Oct 21 (IANS) Further vitiating the already surcharged atmosphere in Orissa's Kandhamal district, hundreds of women of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti - an outfit affiliated to the Sangh Parivar - Tuesday demonstrated here demanding the arrest of a nun who was raped during the violence that erupted in the area in August.
'The allegations made by the nun appear to be baseless because she is not coming forward to identify the people already arrested,' the organisation's zonal organising secretaty Suchitra Mohapatra told IANS.
'If she was raped she should come forward and identify the culprits. The state government has already announced to extend all security and help,' she added.
The Global Council of Indian Christians was quick to react.
'Nobody has any right to say the nun has filed a false case,' Asit Kumar Mohanty, the regional coordinator of the council, said.
'The Crime Branch (of the Orissa Police), which is probing into the incident, has not said that she has filed a false case,' Mohanty pointed out.
The nun has said she is open to investigation if the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is allowed to conduct the probe because she has lost faith in the Orissa police.
The nun, whose name has not been disclosed, has filed a written complaint that a mob of about 40 to 50 armed men attacked a house in Nuagaon village where she along with a priest, Thomas Chellantharayil, had taken shelter after their centre was attacked.
The mob dragged her and the priest and took them to the deserted office of an NGO where she was allegedly stripped and raped. The priest was doused with petrol and beaten up, the nun said in her complaint.
They also paraded her naked on the streets, she alleged, saying that the incident occurred in the presence of a dozen policemen.
Cuttack Archbishop Raphel Cheenath has moved the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe on the ground that the nun had lost faith in the state police.
The state government, in an affidavit submitted to the apex court Monday, rejected the plea and said the state Crime Branch, which is probing the case, had made substantial progress.
'Eight accused persons have been arrested on the basis of available evidence,' the affidavit said, adding: 'The chief minister of Orissa has categorically condemned the heinous crime and has appealed to the victim to cooperate in further investigations.
'The investigation of the case by the Crime Branch of the state is continuing very diligently and the mater is being monitored at the highest level,' the state government maintained.
Communal violence had erupted in the state after the killing of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader and four of his aides Aug 23, claiming the lives of at least 36 people in Kandhamal and leaving more than 20,000 homeless.
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Comments:
sudheesh
November 6, 2008 at 12:00 AM
If anybody is interested in bringing the culprits into the clutches of law and begetting them suitable punishment, they should co-operate with the investigation. When even the co-victim refusing to stand witness in the case ( he had earlier stated that the sister had somehow escaped from molestation ) what has one to believe. The media which reported burning of two christian nuns on that wretched day came up with the rape incident, weeks after the day on which allegedly the incident occurred. While there is no doubt that atrocities in any form should not be allowed it is equally important that false allegations should not be allowed to win. The culprits should be punished; and the innocent people should not be. If at all the nun or any body else for that matter, wish to contribute towards the wellbeing of the society, they should take all the steps necessary to punish the criminals. Why should some body be branded as criminals? If people who are not connected with the case are still kept in police custody because of non-cooperation of the nun and others who directs her, i have no respect to them. All of us, the common man of India support the victims of atrocity and condemn the criminals, whatever names they are called by. We need not brand people as extremists, terrorists, fundamentalists etc. Those who acts against the interest of the society, the country, the humanity, should be cornered and punished. After all, we are all humans, having the same coloured blood, same number of chromosomes and same physical and mental features. Why should we put the Gods in between human beings? For those who believe in God, the ultimate power is everywhere and has no partiality or bias between black and white, male and female, keralites and tamilians, maharashtrians and northindians, hindus and christians, muslims and christians or anything for that matter. Then why should we quarrel in the name of God? Treat fellow beings without prejudice and without considering their cast or creed. May God help us live our lives without harming others.