Mamata to 'entrust' CBI with probe into nun gang rape

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced she would "entrust the investigation" of the gang rape of a 71-year-old nun in West Bengal's Nadia district to the CBI given its "seriousness" and "sensitivity".

"The Ranaghat incident of March 14, 2015 is a very serious matter. The police administration was instructed to take swift action to nab the culprits. They are making their best efforts.

"Considering the seriousness and sensitivity of the case and also the fact that the place of incidence is very close to the border area, I have decided to entrust investigation of the case to CBI," Banerjee said in her Facebook post.

The nun was brutalised by a gang of bandits inside the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Ranaghat, some 80 km from Kolkata, on Saturday.

Banerjee said her government will co-operate fully with the agency.

"Our government will provide all necessary co-operation and assistance to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigation in this case," she said.

Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, who heads the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, visited Ranaghat on Wednesday to meet the brutalised nun and sought swift action from the chief minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, has expressed concern over the gang rape as well as the vandalisation of a church in Haryana, and sought reports on these incidents from the respective state governments.

While the police have detained 10 people, their failure to arrest the attackers till now has created a furore among locals, who on Monday blocked Banerjee's convoy. She had gone there to meet the survivor, now admitted to a hospital.

The West Bengal Human Rights Commission has sought a report from the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID).