Palakkad (Kerala), Oct 13 (IANS) Three people who were arrested in Kerala’s Palakkad district Saturday for their alleged involvement in the rape of a nun in Orissa’s Kandhamal district were taken to Orissa Monday, police said.The arrested, identified as Mitu Patnaik, Saroj Ghadai and Munna Ghadai, were held from Kizhakkanchery in Palakkad by a team of crime branch officials from Orissa with the help of Kerala police. The three, all natives of Baliguda in Orissa, were working in a rice-mill here.

“The Orissa police team comprising two deputy superintendents of police and an inspector has taken the accused by road to Coimbatore (in Tamil Nadu). From there, they will take a flight to Bhubaneswar,” an official at the Palakkad South police station said.

The nun was raped Aug 26 in Kandhamal district, where communal clashes have claimed around 35 lives and rendered thousands homeless.

The violence targeting Christians and their places of worship began after a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader and four of his aides were killed Aug 23.