National

Nun And The Bandits

Yet another nun is humiliated, and the perpetrators roam free

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Nun And The Bandits
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One-and-half years ago when Sister Ruby came to Chapra district, Laloo Yadav's erstwhile constituency, she was full of missionary verve and enthusiasm. But today she finds it difficult to put into words the plight she finds herself in. 'Now I do not want to live in this horrible atmosphere of perpetual fear,'says the nun as she sits in a daze in a dingy corner of her room.

One can only be appalled and helplessly shocked as one hears the 26-year-old nun narrating, for the umpteenth time, the sordid events that befell her on September 20. With misty eyes Ruby, who hails from Kesra village of Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, recalls how she left the St. Joseph's Health Centre and Convent at 9 am on that fateful day and came to the crowded Gandhi Chowk by a horsecart. Ruby was on her way to the general post office at Sahebganj.

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Remembers a traumatised and terror-stricken Ruby: 'From there (Gandhi Chowk) I shared an autorickshaw with two more persons, both around 35. As soon as the three-wheeler started moving they started harassing and humiliating me by saying things like: 'let the elections be over and we'll burn your centre to the ground' and 'we've raped and killed so many nuns like you'. Throughout they kept slapping me and pulled out a dagger and forced the three-wheeler to a secluded place. There they dragged me to a lonely mango grove, tore off my blouse and stripped me. Though I repeatedly requested them to let me go, they would not heed my words. After tying my hands up with my clothes they attempted to rape me but when they failed they forced me to drink their urine and then drove off leaving me in a shattered state.'

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Sister Ruby belongs to the Congregation of Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary, popularly known as the Pondicherry Blue Sisters. She had been working at the centre among the poor and backward people of Khalpura (Jalalpur) in Chapra district. Those who tormented her and subjected her to the worst form of humiliation remain unidentified. According to the fir (No. 224/99) lodged with the local town police station, when Sister Ruby was on her way to the Sahebganj post office at 9 am she was abducted by two men and taken to a secluded mango grove, stripped and forced to drink a bottle full of their urine. The autorickshaw driver was also allegedly involved. The case is registered under sections 342, 345, 376, 511, 324 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (ipc).

She sits next to Father Cajetan, who looks after the affairs of the health centre, as he tries to put the incident in perspective by cor-relating it with what has happened in the past. 'On September 16 a man tried to molest one of our nuns and we just passed it off as a stray incident. Then one day when we put up our centre's board near the road it was removed the same night. This happened again and again,'says Father Cajetan.

Meanwhile, realising the gravity of the incident, the state administration has swung into action and dgp K.A. Jacob, after visiting the site of crime and confirming the incident, has constituted a crack team of three of his men led by an ips officer to inquire into the shocking incident. Speaking to Outlook, Jacob confirmed that though they have identified the persons involved they had not been arrested yet since they could not be traced. 'But we hope to arrest them soon,'says the dgp, adding that the 'persons involved do not belong to any political party and are merely anti-socials.'However, commissioner (home) U.N. Panjiar has said that the identity of the culprits is yet to be ascertained.

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The incident has predictably evoked widespread condemnation with several Christian organisations, social activist groups, non-governmental organisations as well as political parties demanding an impartial inquiry into the incident and also the immediate arrest of the perpetrators of this heinous crime. Though there were some attempts to give a communal colour to the incident, the district administration has stuck to its stand that there was no communal tone to the crime.

However, beyond all the news headlines and statements being made by politicians as well as church leaders, it is very clear that nothing short of a free, fair and impartial probe will bring out the truth about the incident and the hapless Sister Ruby will get her justice and her perpetrators their retribution.

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