In hindsight, a lethal oversight - Police missed deterrence opportunity

The building of the Convent of Jesus and Mary High School where the elderly nun 
was attacked. The nun was taken across seven rooms by the assailants in search 
of money. Picture by Abhi Ghosh

SUBHASISH CHAUDHURI, TT, Ranaghat, March 15: Eight days before the brutality at the Ranaghat convent, the principal had sought and was given police assistance over an alleged threat to sexually assault her but the complaint was not pursued by investigators since then, officials and police sources have told this newspaper.

There is no evidence or any indication yet linking the March 6 incident with yesterday's rape of an elderly nun and robbery in the school complex in Nadia.

However, in hindsight, questions are being asked whether the assailants would have acted with such impunity had the police followed up the complaint with vigour and stepped up their presence in the vicinity of the Convent of Jesus and Mary High School.

Such a proactive role would not have been an overreaction, especially since the three nuns had little protection other than that offered by a 52-year-old guard at night in the complex.

Heightened police activity in the immediate aftermath of threats is a usual - and useful - law-enforcement tool that might have some deterrence value. Five to six years ago, when a businessman in Calcutta had complained of extortion calls from the Gulf, patrolling was stepped up for several weeks and police vehicles were parked outside his home to send a loud and clear message.

So far, no deliberate attempt by the police to ignore the March 6 threat to the school principal has come to light. Rather, the written complaint that was lodged a day later on March 7, appears to have been swallowed up in the usual bureaucratic maw.

However, the way the nun was brutalised and the manner in which the assailants had a free run of the premises for over two hours have underscored the importance of noticeable police response and their ability to act as a preventive, instead of a solely reactive, force.

It emerged today that the 74-year-old nun was dragged across as many as seven rooms as the assailants, who also allegedly stole Rs 7 lakh, tried to make her disclose where the cash was kept. Eight people had been detained for questioning till Sunday evening but none of their faces matches the four visible on the CCTV footage. 

Displaying extreme sensitivity, the Archbishop of Calcutta today referred to the perceived police response to the school's complaint on March 7.

Steering clear of definite conclusions and taking care not to indulge in a blame game, Archbishop Thomas D'Souza said in a statement to The Telegraph on Sunday morning.

"There was a threat to her life received by the same principal, a week earlier to the incident. There was probably not enough follow-up by the police. Perhaps, it could have been stalled. So, we urge the police to be more alert when they get any hints about anything."

On March 6, the father of a student who was expelled last month was seen shouting near the main gate of the institution along with his associates.

"The principal was threatened with sexual assault," said a school source who added that the local administration was informed on the same day, both over the phone and in writing, saying the teachers and nuns were feeling insecure.

Ranaghat's sub-divisional officer (administrative head) confirmed that he had received a complaint from the school on March 6 and a police team was sent to the institution to sort out the problem.

"The principal of the school called me up and sought police protection. After receiving the complaint over the phone, I took the initiative of sending policemen there. The policemen rushed there and dispersed the troublemakers," SDO Rajarshi Mitra told The Telegraph .

Mitra declined to discuss what happened since then. "Please don't ask me anything regarding what happened after the police intervention," he said.

The school authorities said they had lodged the written complaint with Gangnapur police station.

The sub-divisional police officer, Indrajit Bose, declined to comment on the matter.

Sources in the police station said the complaint was registered in the general diary book. "It was not treated as an FIR and no case was initiated," said an officer.

The police said they were not sure whether the attack was a fallout of the threat issued a week ago. The police could not contact the father who allegedly was part of the group that shouted out the threat because he had left India on March 11 for his place of work in the Gulf.

Nadia SP Arnab Ghosh spoke to the boy and his mother today.

"The father's threat to the principal was a fallout of an action that was initiated against his son by the school authorities," said a CID source. "The Class IX student was expelled in the last week of February for uploading photographs maligning a classmate. He had been accused of the same offence last year and was allowed to continue in the school after he gave an undertaking that it would not be repeated. The school authorities came to know of the February incident after the girl's father complained."

The boy was expelled, following which the father turned up at the school's office and sought a transfer certificate, which was given, sources said.

On March 5, the father returned to the school and demanded his son's ICSE registration certificate, which the principal could not give because of the Dol Jatra holiday.

Next day, the father returned with a group. "They were seen shouting and hurling abuses targeting the principal. They kicked on the main gate when they were denied entry. People in the locality heard the father threatening to assault the principal sexually," said another CID officer.