Nun Gangrape case: Peace Prayers held in Delhi

New Delhi, March 20: To mark the solidarity towards the 71 year-old nun, who was brutally gangraped by some goons inside a convent in West Bengal's Nadia district, silence was observed and peace prayers were offered in Delhi.

The sister superior of the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Ranaghat, some 80 km from Kolkata, was brutalised by a gang of bandits on Saturday, March 14.

The National Institute for Gender Justice (NIGJ) organized an Interfaith Peace Prayer on Thursday, March 19 in the national capital to express support and solidarity towards the survivors of rape and sexual violence.

Peace Prayer was offered to seek arrest of culprits, to deliver justice to the septugenarian gangrape victim and as a support to the devastated members of Jesus and Mary Convent School at Ranaghat in Nadia district of West Bengal.

Chairperson of the National Institute for Gender Justice, Ms Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury, said, "We are conducting a series of Interfaith Peace Prayers across the country. The aim of this action is to highlight the need of a peace loving society and also to motivate the communities to join the path of prayer and non-violence. I hope our prayer will be heard by the government and the justice delivery agencies. We will not stop our prayers till arrests are made."

"It is a shame to the entire nation that even after the exposure of criminals in the CCTV footage, no arrests have been made. The government machinery has miserably failed to arrest culprits. We have petitioned the highest authorities, including the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to intervene", she further said.

The Institute has also demanded Rs 1 crore and Rs 5 crore as compensation for the victim and the school respectively and urged the government to take immediate concrete measures to punish the guilty.

"Through today's interfaith and inter-religious prayer, I wish to appeal to our society to respect each other and remove from oneself the feelings of hatred and religious intolerance," said Ms Mitra Chaudhury.

Expressing her anguish towards the rape of the victim, Ms Mitra Chaudhury said, "Our institution vehemently condemns this attack and ruthless gang-rape of a senior citizen who also headed an institution. At this painful moment, we all stand by the victim and the entire school fraternity. I express my deepest support to all the victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault who have been traumatized because of horrifying experiences."

A Signature Campaign was also organized where people expressed their agony towards the unfortunate incident and showed their deep concern and support towards the affected students and the teachers of the school.

OneIndia News