A court in India has found three people guilty in connection with the rape of a Catholic nun in Orissa state in 2008. One was sentenced to 11 years in prison, while the other two received 26-month sentences. Six others were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
The nun was raped by a Hindu mob in Kandhamal district, days after riots between Hindus and Christian there. More than 30 people were killed in the violence and dozens of churches and Christian institutions were vandalized. The riots began after a Hindu religious leader was shot dead. Even though left-wing Maoist rebels claimed responsibility for the killing, hard-line Hindu groups blamed the minority Christian community for the death.
The Catholic nun was dragged out of a Hindu man's house where she had taken shelter along with a 55-year-old priest. She was then taken to an abandoned house where she was raped by a mob. She was then paraded naked through the streets.
Lower-caste Hindus often convert willingly to Christianity to escape the Hindu caste system. However, Hindu groups have accused Christian priests of offering bribes to entire poor Hindus into conversion.
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