By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : One more person has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the rape of a nun during communal riots in Orissa’s Kandhamal district last year, the police said Monday.
With this, the total number of people nabbed for the crime has gone up to 15. “We need to arrest 15 more people involved in the case,” investigating officer D.K. Mohanty told IANS.
Mangalu Behera was arrested Sunday, Mohanty said. Another accused, Gobinda Pujari, was nabbed Saturday.
The 29-year-old Catholic nun was attacked by a mob and raped Aug 24 in Baliguda area of the district. She filed a complaint with the police two days later.
The nun was earlier reluctant to attend the identification parade of the accused in Kandhamal despite orders by a court. She submitted a petition in the Orissa High Court seeking change of the venue to Cuttack.
The high court Dec 18 asked the police to conduct the test identification parade in the Choudwar jail, some 30 km from here.
The victim identified only two of the 10 people arrested. The Crime Branch filed a preliminary charge sheet Jan 26.
Kandhamal, about 200 km from here, witnessed widespread communal violence after the murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his aides Aug 23.
At least 38 people were killed and thousands of Christians were forced to flee their homes after rampaging mobs attacked them. Some 2,000 people are still living in government-run relief camps in the district.