The Orissa government on Friday suspended five policemen in connection with the nun rape case in Kandhamal.
Several policemen at K Nuagaon, under Baliguda sub-division, saw her being assaulted and humiliated but didn’t come to her rescue, the nun had alleged. The government sought a report into the charges from the district collector and superintendent of police.
The policemen were suspended for dereliction of duty on the basis of the report, a senior home department official, who didn’t wish to be identified, said. The nun was allegedly raped at K. Nuagaon, 70km from Phulbani in Kandhamal district, on August 25.
KN Rao, the inspector in charge of the Baliguda station, was suspended earlier for not initiating probe even after the FIR was lodged.
Another victim of communal violence, Father Bernard Digal, was laid to rest on Friday. Digal had died in a Chennai hospital on Tuesday of the injuries he had suffered at the hands of a mob on August 25 in Kandhamal district.
The Church authorities lodged a case with the Kaharavela police station on Thursday and the Crime Branch has been asked to probe Digal’s death.