Rape, Religion, Revenge

A 29-year-old nun from the strife-torn Kondhamal district of Orissa had filed an FIR that she was raped by some 40-50 people on August 25 last and the Father of the church, she was working for, was also stripped by the same group. But the local police resfused to act prompt. Rather, the minority Christian community had to bear the brunt, followed by the brutal murder of Swami Laksmanananda Saraswati till they got shelter in the refugee camps.

The infamous incident not only ashamed the state, but the mankind. The international leadership urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to stop such inhuman acts asap.

The national media stood to the occasion by exposing how the major Hindu extremists were out to destabilise communal harmony, acting against the ethos of their religion -- peace and prosperity. But in the process, what did not come to the notice was that the police had in fact sent the victim for medical examination 28 hours after the alleged rape. (The report has not yet been made public.)

The nun and the elderly Father duo disappeared soon. While the elderly father Thomas Chelan hails from Kerala the 29-year-old nun Agne Barwa is from Sambalpur district of Orissa.

After the Prime Minister Mr Singh was approached by world heavyweights to control the anti-Christian riots, the Centre spent no time in making clear to the Navin Pattnaik-led Orissa government to either control the violence or face action.

Orissa police went to Kerala to seek help from the complainant. Though they failed to find the Father and the nun there, they arrested six of the accused who had fled to Kerala from Kondhamal district after the incident to earn their bread and butter. Police also sent the clothes of the nun for forensic examination to Kolkata to gather evidence of rape.

Later, the duo told the media that they fled Orissa only after they lost faith in the state police and would cooperate only if the case is handed over to the CBI. The Orissa government protested this and deposed before the Supreme Court of India that the state police Crime Branch is competent enough to handle the case. The apex court refused to order for a CBI probe into the case and instructed the complainant to cooperate the state police.

The duo are yet to travel to Orissa and identify the culprits in the TI parade without which police cannot make any progress in the case.

According to 'The Samaja', the largest and most trusted Oriya daily newspaper published from Cuttack, the cultural capital of Orissa, a senior government official who is involved with the investigation of the case said: "The forencsic test report does not have any evidence of rape or forced sex. Report of the medical examination, 28 hours after the alleged rape, also denies any rape or forced sex by more than one person. There were no signs of any injury caused by rape or forced sex in the private parts of the nun. Rather, it was evident that the complainant had indulged in sex with one person with her consent in the previous 24 hours. There was no evidence of she having sex with more than one person. The sperm collected during the examination was of either an old man, elderly person or an eunuch, said the two female doctors who had conducted the test. The test report also says the complainant is not new to having sex."

The senior official further said to the newspaper that the police sent the clothes for forensic examination after the medical examination report failed to point towards any rape or forced sex. However, the duo's reluctance to cooperate the investigating team despite the apex court's instructions, and continued absence from the state since the incident despite number of requests, indicate there is more than what was presumed to be, so far.