Catholic nun gang raped in Orissa

Bhubaneshwar, India, 16 July 2013: A 28-year-old nun was kidnapped and raped for a week by a group of men in Bamunigam, Kandhamal District (Orissa). She was held between 5 and 11 July, but the case was made public only today. "The perpetrators must be brought to justice without delay and the law must take its course. What happened is a disgrace," said Mgr John Barwa SVD, archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar, who condemned the attack.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, President of the Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) also condemned the attack saying ‘I condemn this gang rape of this young nun in the strongest possible terms. This gang rape is an emotional terrorism against our women’.

The nun, a Kandhamal native, lives in Chennai (Tamil Nadu), where she is studying in college. According to her testimony to police, she received a phone call from a woman about two weeks ago, who reported that her mother was very sick.

On 5 July, she took a train to Bamunigam, where two cousins ​​and some friends were waiting to take her home. However, rather than take her to the village of Minapanka, the men led her to a still unidentified place. Here the sister was gang raped for a week.

On 11 July, the attackers left the sister at Berhampur train station, threatening her not to tell anyone about what had happened. The victim managed to reach her village where on 13 July she filed an official complaint.

For now, police arrested her cousin, Jotindra Sobhasundar, and Tukuna Sobhasundear, a friend. The other attackers are nowhere to be found.

The nun received medical assistance and tomorrow her superior will visit her.

According to her brother, the violent act might have been triggered by "family reasons".Last year, an uncle was killed by Maoist guerrillas, and his children (the nun's cousins) accused her family of being involved in the murder.
Source: AsiaNews