A priest witness in the Kandhmal nun rape case yesterday admitted in a court hearing that he had not mentioned the incident in his first report filed on August 26, 2008. Deposing before the district judge Bira Kishore Mishra, Catholic priest Father Thomas Chelathin of the church at Baliguda in Kandhamal, admitted during cross examination by defence lawyers that he had not mentioned the rape in his first FIR, a day after the 29-year-old nun was allegedly raped, IBN Live reports.
The nun was allegedly raped two days after riots broke out in Kandhamal in the aftermath of the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxamananda Saraswati.
The priest identified two accused in the court as being present among the mob during an attack on his church. He had, however, failed to identify either of them during the test identification parade held at Choudwar jail last year.
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