Summary
Four
Catholic nuns were gang raped by about 15 to 20 men on
the morning of 23 September 1998 outside the convent in
Nawapada village in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh,
India. They were taken to the government hospital,
examined and treated. Doctors at the hospital confirmed
that at least one nun had been gang raped while three
others were sexually molested. However the Catholic
diocese of Indore which has ecclesiastical jurisdiction
over Jhabua claimed that all four nuns had been gang
raped. On 24 September, five suspects were taken into
custody but nobody was charged nor formally arrested.
Nevertheless, on 25 September, the police at last
admitted that all four nuns might have been raped. The
four nuns have presently been moved to an undisclosed
location in order to let them recover from their trauma..
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| Action Requested Please write polite letters to the Indian
Government and Madhya Pradesh State officials showing
your concern about the rapes. Please also:
* request that an immediate and thorough investigation by
the central police force of the Madhya Pradesh state be
carried out in order to bring the criminals to justice
according to the law.
* express your concern about the safety, security and
civil rights of the Christian minority community,
especially the priests, nuns and all missionary workers.
SEND LETTERS TO:
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
Mr. Digivijay Singh
Office of the Chief Minister, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh,
INDIA
c.c. copies to:
1. President of India
Excellency Kocheril Raman Narayanan
Office of the President, Rshtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110
004, INDIA
Fax: 91-11-301 7290
2. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Kalyan Singh
Office of the Chief Minister, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh,
INDIA
3. Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mr. Jyoti Basu
Office of the Chief Minister, Writers building, Calcutta
600 001, INDIA
4. Diplomatic representatives of India accredited to your
country
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Background
In the early morning of 23
September, at about 2:00 a.m., fifteen to twenty men came
to the convent in Nawapada village in Jhabua district,
Madhya Pradesh. These are tribal areas of Jhabua district
along the Narmada river. They knocked on the gate and
requested to be let in, saying that they wanted some
sisters to help with some persons were in distress. Due
to the time of night, the sisters told them to leave and
agreed that they would go the next morning.
The gang then turned violent, broke down the gate,
entered the convent and ransacked it. Meanwhile, the nuns
hid themselves inside the convent chapel. After some
time, the men knocked at the chapel door and told the
nuns to come out. The four nuns hesitated in opening the
door even though the men promised not to harm them. When
they finally opened the door, the gang of men immediately
grabbed the four nuns and one by one took them to the
fields just outside the convent. There they gang raped
the nuns.
The four nuns were all injured and taken to the hospital
in the daytime of 23 September. They were in a state of
shock.
According to newspaper reports, local people believe that
the attack was part of a conspiracy against Christian
churches by Hindu fundamentalists or communal
organisations. Recently, Hindu nationalists have been
openly campaigning against Christian missionaries.
On 24 September, police took five alleged rapists into
custody but none of them were charged nor held for
further investigations. The state home minister of Madhya
Pradesh, Mr. Harbhajan Singh said that the criminals are
believed to be from the local tribal Bheel and Bhilala
communities, which are predominantly non-Christian.
The Christian community is outraged. Schools and colleges
were closed throughout the state of Madhya Pradesh in a
show of protest against the gang rape. The president of
the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, Archbishop Alan
De Lastic wrote complaint letters to the Indian President
and Home Minister and sharply said, "the Christian
community was feeling insecure and disturbed at this
increasing violence against them in different parts of
the country."
So far, police have made two arrests in connection with
the rape and promised to step up security for Christian
community. On the other hand, local social activists
believe that progress of investigation may be thwarted
because of the criminalization of politics and police
corruption. The Christian community has already demanded
a thorough investigation by the central police force and
not only a magisterial enquiry, which was suggested by
the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Digvijay Singh.
Mr. Harbhajan Singh earlier announced rewards of Rs 50,000
(~ US$ 1,360) each for any information about the rape
case.
OTHER ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENT INCIDENTS
24 September 1998
at Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh
* A convent was looted and nuns were beaten up while the
security guard was critically injured.
24 September 1998
at Hoogly in West Bengal
* A kitchen girl who works at a convent was raped by two
men.
26 September 1998
at Jamali in Jhabua
* A missionary centre and residence of the parish priest
were attacked.
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