Bangladeshi Convicted Of Raping 71-Year-Old Nun In West Bengal

Kolkata: The city sessions court on Tuesday held a Bangladeshi national guilty of raping a 71-year-old nun of a convent in Ranaghat, about 80km from Kolkata on March 14, 2015.

Nazrul Islam alias Noju was also convicted for robbery and criminal conspiracy with four others and a sixth person was held guilty of harbouring them. The court will read out the sentence for all six guilty on Wednesday, with the rapist looking at spending the rest of his life in jail.

The rape and dacoity incident came to light after the CCTV camera caught the accused on the campus of the Convent of Jesus and Mary High School. During the primary investigation, police were able to identify four men; however, the other four were nabbed on the basis of the description given by nuns and the security guard. The prime accused in the matter, Nazrul Islam, was nabbed from Sealdah railway station in Kolkata on June 17, 2015. As per reports, a total of 42 witnesses were examined during the trial.

Judge Kumkum Sinha, while pronouncing the verdict, termed the incident as a blot on a state where Sister Nivedita and Mother Teresa had worked for people. "What happened to a senior nun here is a blot on Bengal's legacy," she observed before reading out the verdict.

The judge switched to Bengali to ensure the six understood the enormity of their guilt and the verdict.

The six culprits had barged into the convent in the early hours of March 14, 2015, after holding the guard at gunpoint. After collecting the valuables, Islam locked the 71-year-old nun in a room and raped her for raising alarm about robbery. The nun was so badly injured that she had to undergo surgery.