Man arrested for rape of Nun and murder plot

Bhubaneswar - Police have arrested a key Hindu radical wanted for rape and attack of Nun and a priest during an anti-catholic protest in India. The man was allegedly plotting to kill them both following the 2008 rape to keep them from testifying against the angry mob.

Orissa police last night arrested a key Hindu radical wanted for the rape of a Catholic nun. Pandit Bishimajhi appeared before court in Balliguda, Kandhamal, where the nun was raped during the 2008 anti-Christian violence. He faces at least 15 criminal charges. Church people allege that Bishimajhi led several mob attacks during the violence. One of his mobs stripped and paraded Sister Meena and Father Thomas Chellan, director of a pastoral center in the district. Bishimajhi is accused of plotting to murder them both after raping Sister Meena. He is also charged with burning down Jan Vikas, an archdiocesan social service center reports the Union of Catholic Asian News. Bishimajhi, secretary of a local unit of the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party, was arrested in Kudutulli, a nearby village where he was hiding. This brings the total to 19 people arrested in this vicious attack of the nun and the Priest. Lawyers for the nun have been successful in having the trial moved to another district and city. The nun’s lawyers told UCA News the court’s decision highlights the poor state of justice in Kandhamal, the center of 2008 anti-Christian riots.

Lawyer Lansingh Lu Rongmei said the referral “is a victory not only for the nun,” but also for every victim of the violence.

“The very fact the court accepts the atmosphere is not conducive in Kandhamal for a free and fair trial opens the doors of justice for others who have so far been denied justice,” she said.

Manasa Ranjan Singh, another lawyer who handled the nun’s case in Kandhamal’s Balliguda trial court, said the transfer would definitely impact on prosecutions in that district. It would force the administration to review the investigation and judicial process, he added.

The nun’s petition explained to the High Court that during trials in other cases, witnesses had not cooperated because of intimidation from Hindu extremists. This led to high rate of acquittals and she feared a similar outcome would happen in her case if it was heard in Kandhamal.

The petition also noted the atmosphere in Kandhamal was not “conducive” for her to appear before the court. Christian leaders say some of the nun’s attackers and other riot perpetrators are yet to be arrested.

Her petition

also said she feared her life was in “grave danger” and pleaded for the case to be moved from Kandhamal. Manasa Ranjan Singh, a lawyer following Sister Meena’s case, says the arrest would have “definite impact” on the case and boost the morale of other victims seeking justice. “He was arrested after two years despite having high-level political connections. He cannot escape now,” said Singh. Father Dibya Parichha, the archdiocese’s legal affairs coordinator on the riot cases, added that the arrest would help bring peace and reconciliation. “He was a terror in the area,” he added.