Headlines
Mamata to 'entrust' CBI with probe into nun gang rape
Kolkata, March 18
West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced she would "entrust the
investigation" of the gang rape of a 71-year-old nun in West Bengal's
Nadia district to the CBI given its "seriousness" and "sensitivity".
"The
Ranaghat incident of March 14, 2015 is a very serious matter. The
police administration was instructed to take swift action to nab the
culprits. They are making their best efforts.
"Considering the
seriousness and sensitivity of the case and also the fact that the place
of incidence is very close to the border area, I have decided to
entrust investigation of the case to CBI," Banerjee said in her Facebook
post.
The nun was brutalised by a gang of bandits inside the
Convent of Jesus and Mary in Ranaghat, some 80 km from Kolkata, on
Saturday.
Banerjee said her government will co-operate fully with the agency.
"Our
government will provide all necessary co-operation and assistance to
the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigation in this
case," she said.
Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, who heads the
Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, visited Ranaghat on Wednesday to
meet the brutalised nun and sought swift action from the chief minister.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, too, has expressed concern over the gang rape
as well as the vandalisation of a church in Haryana, and sought reports
on these incidents from the respective state governments.
While
the police have detained 10 people, their failure to arrest the
attackers till now has created a furore among locals, who on Monday
blocked Banerjee's convoy. She had gone there to meet the survivor, now
admitted to a hospital.
The West Bengal Human Rights Commission has sought a report from the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID).