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Key accused in Orissa nun's rape case arrested |
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By: Agencies |
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Date:
2008-10-09 |
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Place: Bhubaneswar |
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we want justice: Sister Nirmala had written to the state authorities seeking justice for the nun. file pic | The key accused in the gang rape of a nun has been arrested in Orissa's volatile Kandhamal district, where communal clashes since August 23 have left at least 35 dead and thousands homeless.
Santosh Pradhan was arrested from Baliguda town on Tuesday and produced before a local court.
Police had earlier arrested four men Juria Pradhan, Kartik Pradhan, Biren Kumar Sahu and Tapas Kumar Patnaik for their alleged roles in the crime.
The nun had filed the complaint on August 26 three days after a VHP leader was killed, triggering a spate of violence targeting Christians and churches in which at least 35 people lost their lives.
Media impact
Though the report was filed many weeks ago, police collected the medical examination report only last week after the media reported the issue and Sister Nirmala, superior general of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, wrote to the state authorities seeking justice for the nun.
The medical report confirmed the raped. The state suspended the inspector in charge of the Baliguda police station, where the nun had filed her complaint.
According to the nun's complaint, a mob of about 50 armed men attacked a house at K Nuagaon village where she along with a priest, Father Thomas Chellan-tharayil, had taken shelter. The mob dragged her and the priest to a deserted office where she was allegedly stripped and raped by one from the mob. The priest was doused with petrol and beaten up. They also paraded her naked on the streets, she alleged, saying that the incident occurred in the presence of a dozen policemen.
The state has sent a police team to New Delhi, where the nun has taken shelter. The state has assured protection to the nun and said she needs to come to Orissa and identify the culprits. |
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