Nun wants to remain in hospital to overcome trauma, no arrests yet

Kolkata, March 19 (IANS) The septuagenarian nun, still traumatised after being gang-raped inside a Bengal convent last week, has pleaded that she be allowed to remain in hospital for some more time to regain her composure, even as police were still unable to arrest any of the culprits.

A district police officer on Thursday said 15 people have been detained for questioning so far, but no one has been arrested.

Facing massive protests over the nun's gang rape, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced on Wednesday that she would "entrust the investigation" to the CBI.

An official at the Ranaghat sub-divisional hospital said the medical board treating the nun has declared that she was physically and mentally fit for discharge from the hospital.

However, the 71-year-old Sister Superior of the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Nadia district's Ranaghat - some 80 km from Kolkata - requested the authorities to be allowed to stay in the hospital for some more time.

"We have agreed to her request. She can stay on till she felt she was fit to leave. We will continue to treat her," said the official.

Officer of the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) visited the convent several times on Thursday and recorded the statements of witnesses present on Saturday when the culprits raided the convent and gang-raped the nun.

The CID also got an artist to draw fresh sketches of the alleged culprits.

Meanwhile, protests continued in Ranaghat and Kolkata against the incident which has created revulsions across the country and beyond.

A group "We are victims" went to the hospital to enquire about the nun's condition and then visited the school.

The organisation has called for a silent rally from Moulali to Esplanade in Kolkata demanding punishment of those guilty of crimes against women in Ranaghat and elsewhere in the state.

The students of the convent took out a candlelight vigil in the evening demanding arrest of those who perpetrated the heinous crime. Their teachers and guardians also joined them.

The National Human Rights Commission has already taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and shot off notice to the state chief secretary and director general of police, calling for reports within two weeks.