Elderly nun gang raped in India, sparking outrage

A group of bandits gang raped an elderly nun on Saturday when she attempted to stop them from robbing a Christian missionary school in eastern India, police said, the latest crime to focus attention on the scourge of sexual violence in the country.

The nun, who is in her 70s, was hospitalized in serious condition after being attacked by seven or eight men at the Convent of Jesus and Mary School in Nadia district, 50 miles northeast of the West Bengal state capital of Kolkata, a police officer said.

Police Inspector General Anuj Sharma told Agence France-Presse that "two people have so far been arrested." The others remain at large.

The robbers tied the school's security guards with ropes early Saturday and entered the nuns' room, where the women were sleeping. They took one of the nuns to another room when she tried to block their way and then raped her, the officer said.

The men escaped with some cash, a cellphone, laptop computer and camera, all belonging to the school, the officer said. They also ransacked the school's chapel and holy items, the Press Trust of India cited the archbishop of Kolkata, Thomas D'Souza, as saying.

India has a long history of tolerance for sexual violence, but the December 2012 fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman aboard a moving bus in New Delhi caused outrage across the country.

The outcry led the federal government to rush legislation doubling prison terms for rapists to 20 years and criminalizing voyeurism, stalking and the trafficking of women. The law also made it a crime for officers to refuse to open cases when complaints are filed.

The latest incident comes at a time of heightened sensitivity over women's safety in India, which last week banned a documentary about the 2012 gang rape.

Authorities said screening the documentary could have caused public disorder, but critics accused the government of being more concerned with the country's reputation than the safety of its women.

In reaction to Saturday’s attack, scores of angry students, their parents and teachers blocked a nearby highway and railroad track near the Christian missionary school for several hours demanding swift police action and the arrest of the culprits.

Mamta Banerjee, the state's top elected official, strongly condemned the attack and ordered a high-level police investigation. Banerjee tweeted her condemnation of what she called a "horrific attack," promising "swift, strongest action."

Meanwhile, D'Souza appealed to the public to maintain peace and harmony in the area.

Wire services