India Nun Gang Rape Police Make First Arrest In Chilling Case Which Sparked Outrage

First Arrest After Chilling Gang Rape Of Indian Nun In Convent
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Police investigating the rape of a 74-year-old nun in India have made their first arrest in the case which caused mass protests, nearly two weeks after the crime.

Six alleged attackers were caught on CCTV as they burgled a convent in West Bengal, before raping the elderly nun after she tried to stop them from robbing the building.

Police have been hunting for the men since they escaped, and have detained several people, but had not made any arrests until now, despite calls for them to act fast after the rape.

The nun - reportedly the oldest woman in the convent - was hospitalised in a serious condition, after being attacked by seven or eight men at the Convent of Jesus and Mary School, northeast of the West Bengal state capital of Kolkata, police say. She is now thought to be in a stable condition.

She reportedly stood up to the bandits as they entered the convent, which also teaches children, on 14 March. They tied the building's security guards up with ropes in the early morning, a police report says, and entered the bedroom where the nuns were sleeping. When one tried to block their way, they took her to another room and raped her, an officer said.

A man has been arrested in Mumbai and has been taken to Kolkata, according to a police official who spoke to BBC Hindi. The arrested man was identified as Mohammad Salim Sheikh - but the officer refused to say whether he was one of the men were caught on camera in the chilling CCTV footage.

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The men on camera at the convent

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CCTV images believed to be of the perpertrators

The men escaped with some cash, a cellphone, a laptop computer and a camera, all belonging to the school, the officer said. They also ransacked the school's chapel and holy items, the Press Trust of India news agency cited the archbishop of Kolkata, Thomas D'Souza, as saying.

Scores of angry students, their parents and teachers blocked a highway and railroad tracks near the convent for several hours after the crime, demanding swift police action in the shocking case.

Protest over nun gang rape
(01 of07)
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Students of Convent of Jesus and Mary School participate in a protest against the gang rape of a nun in her 70s by a group of bandits when she tried to prevent them from robbing the Christian missionary school in Begopara, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state, Saturday, March 14, 2015. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(02 of07)
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The nun was hospitalized in serious condition after the attack, which was committed by seven or eight men. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(03 of07)
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Prayers were said at churches across India on March 15 for an elderly nun who was gang-raped at a convent in an attack that has intensified anger over sexual violence and fuelled fears among beleaguered Christians. (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(04 of07)
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Students from the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Ranaghat, 70 kilometres north of Kolkata, lighting candles at a protest after a 71-year-old nun was gang-raped at the convent. (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(05 of07)
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This photo taken on March 14, 2015 shows nuns at a protest in Ranaghat, 70 kilometres north of Kolkata, after a 71-year-old nun was gang-raped at a convent (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(06 of07)
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This photo taken on March 14, 2015 shows a protest in Ranaghat, 70 kilometres north of Kolkata, after a 71-year-old nun was gang-raped at a convent. (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(07 of07)
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This photo taken on March 14, 2015 shows students from the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Ranaghat, 70 kilometres north of Kolkata, protesting after a 71-year-old nun was gang-raped at the convent. (credit:STR via Getty Images)