BJP politician arrested for nun rape in Orissa

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician was arrested last week for the rape of a Catholic nun in Orissa.

The arrested, Pandit Bishimajhi, is the secretary of a local unit of the BJP in Kandhamal.

Bishimaji faces at least 15 criminal case and that includes the rape of the nun during the peak of violence in August, 2008.

He has been accused of leading several mobs during the violence. One of his mobs stripped and paraded Sister Meena and Father Thomas Chellan, according to UCAN News.

The firebrand politician is accused of plotting to murder them both after raping Sister Meena. He is also charged with burning down Jan Vikas, a Catholic social service center.

A lawyer following up the nun's case has expressed relief at the arrest. The arrest despite Bishimaji's influence and power will be crucial to the case, he said.

The 29-year-old nun was raped and paraded naked two days after the killing of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati.

Several of the accused in the nun rape case were earlier identified through the Test Identification Parade (TIP) conducted by the police.