Chambria N. Brawley
10:15 am
Orissa officials may be petitioning the court to move forward with seeking a date to conduct a “test identification parade,” of the suspects in the proposed rape of a nun from the Kandhamal region,who has chosen to remain anonymous for reasons of safety. After obtaining a date from the court, the nun will be summoned on that date to appear in court to identify her attackers. The problem is, the nun has been untraceable since August 28, 2008, two days after her written statement was filed. In the report she stated that both herself and a priest, Father Thomas Chellantharayil, were taken from K. Nuagon village by a mob of 40-50 armed men and assaulted. She stated that both were taken to a “deserted” office of an NGO, where she was stripped and raped and the priest was saturated in petrol and beaten. She was also forced to parade around the streets naked and the incident allegedly took place in front of a dozen police officers. Archbishop Raphael Cheenath spoke on behalf of the nun stating that her reasons for remaining low key is due to a lack of faith within the state police; Cheenath was served a notice earlier this month, by the crime branch requesting the whereabouts of the nun and unfortunately, he was unable to be of any service. All the while, crime branch teams have patrolled the streets of Kerala and Delhi and there has yet to be any trace of the nun. Nine people have been arrested thus far and will be present for the public test identification parade. In efforts to reach out to the nun, officials are seeking aid from the public. Officials hope to obtain a date in which it can be publicized in hopes of drawing the nun as well as Father Chellantharayil forward as well. On a more positive note, it was also reported that normalcy is returning to the region and this is evident due to no major incidences of violence over the past three weeks.
I can see why the nun would not want to come forward due to the excessive acts of violence which are supposedly just now being contained. Her statement was very controversial in that this could affect a lot of individuals, especially the police officers who were present at the time of her assault. To her it is a matter of life or death because if she reveals herself, she has just made herself a target. It is necessary for her to come forward in order for justice to be obtained but it will do little for her dignity and innocence which was lost as a result of such a heinous crime.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1200701
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