By TCN News,
New Delhi: The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India has condemned the sexual assault on a Catholic nun in a mission centre in Raipur in Chhattisgarh and sought adequate security for Christians in social service.
The bishops are “deeply distressed to learn of the sad news” of the attack on a 47-year old nun belonging to the Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate, said Conference secretary general Bishop Albert D’Souza in a statement.
The nun, a qualified nurse, was in the Nursing Home together with two other girls. She was found early morning, gagged and tied to the bed after being brutally attacked and molested, the bishop’s statement said.
Reports quoting police said two masked men entered the nun’s room Friday night in search of cash and valuables and assaulted her after they failed to find their booty.
The nun lived with three aides at the infirmary and provided primary treatment to children and those who suffer minor injuries. The survivor was initially taken to Government Ambedkar Hospital attached to a Medical College, but was shifted to district hospital after media followed the survivor.
The statement said the CBCI “views these attacks on the nuns very seriously” and urges the federal and state governments “to act speedily to book the culprits involved in this heinous crime.”
It also wanted the government to “provide adequate security and protection to the Christian Missionaries whose selfless service to the poor has been widely acclaimed by the Indian public in general.”
“Such incidents of violence on minorities, and especially women, tarnishes the image of our country in the international community, besides posing serious questions as to how far the minorities are safe and secure today in India,” the statement said.