MORADABAD: Two persons were arrested here Thursday for their involvement in the alleged rape of two Kerala nuns last month at St Mary’s convent at Gajraula, 200 KM from New Delhi, police said.

Police said a sum of RS 9,500 was also recovered from them. Another accused had been arrested earlier.

A gang of hoodlums had broken into the St Mary convent’s at dawn on July 13, beaten, abused and terrorized the seven nuns who stayed there, raped two of them before making away with over one hundred thousand rupees, the sisters said in a complaint to the police.

The incident created a nationwide furor and protests from Christian bodies, as the police said the medical examination showed no evidence of rape and aggrieved nuns closed down the school demanding action against the culprits.

The school was reopened Tuesday, after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav went to the convent and promised the nuns of stern action against the culprits.

On Wednesday all Christian’s educational institutions all over the country remained closed in protest against the Gajraula incident.

Christians. Representatives of Christian organisation, the clergy and women’s led by the ST Mary’s sisters took out a rally to the prime minister’s house protesting against the assault and increasing attacks on Christians. Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh assured them that speedy justice would be done and minorities protected.

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister V P Singh Wednesday assured a delegation of Christians that his National Front government would ensure the safety and security of the minorities in the country.

A 14-member delegation, led by the Catholic bishops Conference of India (CBCI) president, Archbishop Alphonse Mathias of Bangalore, presented a memorandum of their demands to the prime minister.

The memorandum urged the prime minister to take immediate steps to ensure justice and protection to the minorities. The inaction and callous attitude of the authorities indicated that the culprits enjoyed the patronage of people in Power, it said.

The delegation was part of a 10,000-strong rally of Christians that earlier marched to the prime minister’s residence to protest against the growing attacks on Christian institutions in various parts of the country and to highlight the alleged rape of two nuns of St

Mary’s convent in Gajraula, Uttar Pradesh on July 13

Article extracted from this publication >> August 10, 1990