The West Bengal Government on Wednesday decided to hand over the case of gangrape of a 71-year-old nun of a Ranaghat convent school to the CBI as the demand for justice grew louder with the culprits still at large even after four days of the incident. “Considering the seriousness and sensitivity of the case and the fact that the place of incidence is very close to border area, I have decided to entrust the investigation of the case to the CBI,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a Facebook post.
“The Ranaghat incident of 14th March is a very serious matter. The police administration was instructed to take swift action to nab the culprits. They are making their best efforts,” Banerjee added. Meanwhile, disrobed body of a 75-year-old widow was found on Wednesday in Katwa area of Burdwan, but post-mortem report has ruled out any rape or death due to rape.
Earlier on Wednesday, President of Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) Baselios Cardinal Cleemis arrived at Ranaghat to express solidarity with the victim. “CBCI would like to request the authorities to ensure that justice is done,” he said, adding that, “Justice should be made visible and such act should not continue. We are here to see personally what has happened,” he added.
Archbishop of Kolkata Thomas D’Souza also welcomed the State Government’s move. “In a way we are happy that the Government is taking steps to nab the culprits, however, the results have not been positive so far and we are disappointed,” he said. Fifteen persons have been detained in the case but no arrests have been made so far. The District Police have also announced an award of Rs1 lakh to anyone who can help identifying the accused.