Police in Ludhiana, Punjab, India, have detained four persons, claimed to be Bangladeshis, in connection with the gang rape of an elderly nun in Ranaghat, West Bengal, and the subsequent robbery incident at a convent, Indian daily Hindustan Times reported.
Two persons each were detained on Monday and Tuesday. “All four are Bangladeshis. Ludhiana police commissioner himself is looking into it,” Dinkar Gupta, additional DGP (security), told Hindustan Times.
Naveen Singla, Ludhiana deputy commissioner, said: “We are interrogating them and also conducting search operations on the basis of information received from them. Bengal police have been informed. At present, I can’t share anything more. It’s a sensitive matter.”
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials, with the assistance of Mumbai Police crime branch, had made the first arrest in the case from a Mumbai slum in the wee hours of Thursday. The person was identified as Sheikh Salim.
The next day, a CID team arrested Gopal Sarkar, a resident of Habra in North 24-Parganas for providing shelter to those who committed the crime. Police said that eight people were involved and that after committing the crime they possibly fled to Bangladesh.
The Ranaghat incident, which took place in the wee hours of March 14, came against the backdrop of attacks on the Christian community and triggered shock waves.
The breakthroughs in the case came after Bengal police circulated photos of four culprits to state police authorities across the country.
