Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
India

Kolkata Nun Gangrape: No Arrests Yet, Governor Seeks Public Help To Nab Culprits

Darpan News Desk, 15 Mar, 2015 05:22 PM
    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."

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Kiran Bedi Is Not The Only Reason BJP Lost

    Kiran Bedi Is Not The Only Reason BJP Lost
    It will be too tempting to solely blame it all on Kiran Bedi, the BJP's chief ministerial candidate, for the party's humiliating rout in Delhi. Nothing can be farther from the truth.

    Kiran Bedi Is Not The Only Reason BJP Lost

    Aam Aadmi Party Celebrates Victory In Delhi; Decimates BJP And Congress

    Aam Aadmi Party Celebrates Victory In Delhi; Decimates BJP And Congress
    Frenzied victory celebrations erupted as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters burst crackers, beat drums and danced to commemorate the Arvind Kejriwal-led party heading for a landslide in the Delhi assembly polls.

    Aam Aadmi Party Celebrates Victory In Delhi; Decimates BJP And Congress

    Meet Nirmal Singh, The Man Who Actually Towed Indira Gandhi's Car

    Meet Nirmal Singh, The Man Who Actually Towed Indira Gandhi's Car
    Kiran Bedi, the first woman IPS officer of India who bagged praise for her tough demeanor and participation in the revolutionary movement of the Jan Lokpal bill under Anna Hazare’s vision, is receiving flak for an incident dating back to 1982. 

    Meet Nirmal Singh, The Man Who Actually Towed Indira Gandhi's Car

    Indian Black Money Abroad: 350 Accounts Assessed, 60 Cases Filed

    Indian Black Money Abroad: 350 Accounts Assessed, 60 Cases Filed
    The central government has completed assessment of 350 foreign accounts while tax-evasion proceedings have been initiated against 60 account holders as part of its crackdown on black money, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Monday.

    Indian Black Money Abroad: 350 Accounts Assessed, 60 Cases Filed

    Expelled from JD-U, Manjhi seeks floor test; Nitish stakes claim

    Expelled from JD-U, Manjhi seeks floor test; Nitish stakes claim
    Battle lines were clearly drawn in Bihar Monday as Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, expelled from the ruling JD-U, sought to prove his majority on the floor of the assembly even as his predecessor Nitish Kumar staked claim to form the government and accused Manjhi of "horse-trading".

    Expelled from JD-U, Manjhi seeks floor test; Nitish stakes claim

    Indian Catholic Priests Find Growing Role In The West

    Indian Catholic Priests Find Growing Role In The West
    The tide has turned so much so that today a growing number of Catholic priests from India travel to, stay on and settle in the United States to minister to the needs of the faithful there.

    Indian Catholic Priests Find Growing Role In The West