Raped Orissa nun speaks out

She demanded at a packed press conference that the CBI probe the case as she had no faith in the local police. HT Correspondent reports.

“I hid myself under a staircase while the crowd shouted: ‘Where is the sister? Come, let us rape her; at least 100 people should rape her,” sobbed the 29-year-old nun who was gangraped in Orissa’s Kandhamal district on August 25.

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She recalled how she was thrashed mercilessly and then raped repeatedly as a man stood on each of her hands. She said the mob of “40 to 50” shouted “Jai Bajrang Bali” as they raped her.

She demanded at a packed press conference that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe the case as she had no faith in the local police. Two days ago, the Supreme Court had refused to hand over the case to the CBI.

The victim needed the support of another nun and an aide to walk to the podium. She spoke in a low tone, interrupted by bouts of silences. She ended her statement, saying, “God bless India. God bless you all.”

“The local police did nothing for over a month. The nun will not cooperate with them due to their complicity. Now they are asking her for an identification parade, but she will only participate if it’s through video-conferencing,” said Dr John Dayal, secretary-general of the All India Christian Council.

The victim said that after the rape, the mob took her to a market where “a dozen Orissa Armed Police personnel” were present. “I asked them for help, but they did not budge,” she said “At the police station, as I was writing my account, the inspector asked me to hurry up and not write the details… The police were friendly with my attackers.”