Oct 5, 2008 / 12:52 pm
A recently publicized medical report supports the claim of a Catholic nun who said she was raped and then paraded naked in an anti-Christian attack by a Hindu mob in August in eastern India.
"The doctors say there are signs and symptoms of rape," said police inspector K.N. Rao, adding that he had not read the entire medical report.
Friday news reports said the medical report had confirmed the rape, the Canadian Press says.
Doctors conducted the medical examination after the nun filed the complaint on August 25, but the police said that they did not receive the report until this past Thursday. Inspector Rao instead pointed his finger at the doctors, but they insisted that the police didn’t respond to a reminder to collect the medical report.
The nun said in her police complaint that she was raped when a large Hindu mob attacked a prayer hall in Orissa state’s Kandhamal district, where she worked.
She told the police she was paraded naked after the rape, Rao said.
Clashes between Hindu extremists and Christians in Kandhamal began August 24 following the killing of a Hindu religious leader. Police blamed Maoist rebels, but some Hindu groups blamed Christians and set fire to a Christian orphanage.
The violence escalated as mobs of Hindus attacked churches, shops, and homes. According to SIR, at least 60 have been killed.
The Canadian Press reports that the violence continued early Thursday morning in Khandamal’s neighboring district of Boudh. There a group of nearly 150 people torched over 100 houses, though no casualties or injuries were reported.
Anti-Christian attacks have also spread to the southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in addition to the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
Christians make up about 2.5 percent of India’s 1.1 billion people, while Hindus account for 80 percent.
Relations between the religions are normally peaceful, but hard-line Hindu groups claim Christian missionaries are forcing or bribing people to convert to Christianity. Christian leaders deny the charges.