A 48-year-old Christian nun was allegedly gangraped at a medicare centre in Raipur on Saturday morning leading to protests in the state capital.

In her complaint to the police, the victim said that she was sleeping at the nursing centre run by missionaries in Pandari area of Raipur when two masked men barged at around 1.30 am and tied her hands and feet before gangraping her.

When the nun failed to report for the duty next morning, her colleagues reached her room and found her gagged and tied with the bed.

They called the police and she was taken to a hospital. Her statement was recorded on Saturday noon. The victim, a resident of Kerala, belongs to Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate.

The police, however, claimed that it was a case of “sexual assault”. Ruling out rape, Raipur IG G P Singh said: “There is no evidence of gangrape. It’s a case of sexual assault.”

“Her medical report says attempt to rape. According to her statement, we have registered a case of rape under Section 376 of the IPC. We are interrogating some suspects,” Raipur SP B N Meena said.

While state Congress and Chhattisgarh Christian Forum have termed the incident as a “systematic attack on minorities in the state”, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) said in a statement that such incidents pose serious questions on the safety and security of the minorities in India today.

The CBCI has urged the Chhattisgarh government and the Centre to book the culprits and provide adequate security to Christian Missionaries.