Headlines
Nun gangrape: No arrests yet, governor seeks public help to nab culprits
Kolkata, March 15
With the police yet to make
any arrest - despite detaining eight people for questioning - in the
horrendous gangrape of a septuagenarian nun at a West Bengal convent,
Governor K.N. Tripathi sought public help on Sunday to nab the culprits
even as Christian organisations announced a solidarity rally here.
Promising
strict action with regard to the horrifying incident in Nadia district
in the early hours of Saturday that has caused revulsion in the state
and beyond, Tripathi said the culprits would be apprehended and
arrested.
"The state government will take strict action in this
matter," Tripathi told the media. "The administration will surely
apprehend the culprits and punish them. I feel the people should also
come forward to help nab the culprits."
The nun was brutalised by
a gang of bandits inside the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Ranaghat,
some 80 km from Kolkata, early Saturday.
District police superintendent Arnab Ghosh said eight people have been detained -- but no one has been arrested so far.
Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee has handed over the case to the Criminal
investigation Department, whose personnel visited the spot during the
day.
Police have already released snapshots of the culprits and
announced a reward of Rs.1 lakh for providing information about the
perpetrators.
The state women's commission alleged that the
police did not act even though the convent had been receiving threats
from some quarters.
Commission chairperson Sunanda Mukherjee on
Sunday visited the convent and met the survivor who is undergoing
treatment at a hospital.
"In November last year, a student of the
school was suspended on disciplinary ground following which some of the
teachers received threats. The matter was reported to the sub
divisional officer," said Mukherjee.
"A week back some miscreants
entered the school and threatened one of the sisters saying 'I will
kill you'. A police complaint in this regard was promptly lodged but no
action was taken. There is no doubt about police inaction in this matter
too," said Mukherjee.
She said the commission was looking into
the matter and would recommend steps against police officers found
guilty of dereliction of duty.
Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Calcutta announced it would take out a march in Kolkata
on Monday to express solidarity with the survivor.
"We want to
create awareness in the society on the importance of non-violence and
respect for women," Archbishop of Kolkata Thomas D'Souza said.
The incident, as usual, triggered a political blame game.
The opposition Left Front wondered if the Banerjee led government was trying to hush up the mater.
"Whenever
the chief minister wants to hush up a matter she summons the CID," said
Leader of opposition in the state assembly and CPI-M state secretary
Surjya Kanta Mishra, who visited the convent during the day.
"The
administration has assured to catch the culprits within 48 hours, we
will wait till then. If the administration fails to act, then the
administration and the chief minister will be responsible for the
resultant protests and agitations," threatened Mishra.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) condemned the incident but warned against giving it a religious colour.
"All
civilised societies should condemn such an incident. But attempts
should not be made to use such incidents to create tensions between
communities by giving it a religious colour," RSS general secretary
Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi said in Nagpur.
Actress-turned-politician
and BJP leader Locket Chatterjee, who led a delegation to the convent,
expressed displeasure over the matter getting politicised.
"This
is a heinous act deserving strong condemnation but it should not be
politicised," said Chatterjee in an apparent reference to Trinamool
Congress joint secretary Frihad Hakim's comments on Saturday.
Hakim,
also Urban Development Minister, said: "A religious fanaticism has been
created in the country. Different churches are being attacked at
various places. In the name of 'Ghar Wapsi', people are being
religiously provoked."