Nun, 71, who was gang-raped by six men at an Indian Christian school prays for their forgiveness after it is revealed she was assaulted as she tried to prevent the men attacking another woman

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An Indian nun who was gang-raped at a convent is praying for the attackers to be forgiven just 36 hours after the ordeal.

The 71-year-old was trying to prevent six men from assaulting another woman and robbing the Christian missionary school on Friday night when she was locked in a room and raped.

CCTV was released for the first time yesterday showing the suspects leaving the staff room at the Convent of Jesus and Mary School in West Bengal. A reward of 100,000 rupees (£1,075) is on offer for any leads, police said.

But the victim is said to be more concerned that the men are forgiven and the students are safe.

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Caught: Three men suspected of gang-raping an elderly Indian nun at the Convent of Jesus and Mary School in West Bengal were pictured for the first time yesterday. The victim is said to be more concerned the men are forgiven and the students are safe

One mother, who went to visit the nun at her hospital in Ranaghat, said: 'That's the greatness of a spiritual soul like her.

'All of us want the miscreants behind such a heinous crime to be arrested and given exemplary punishment.'

Atindranath Mondal, hospital superintendent, added that the nun was brought to the hospital around 7am on Saturday.

'Immediately a team of doctors attended to her and a senior gynaecologist operated on her,' he told The Times of India.  

Arnab Ghosh, a police superintendent, said five men had been detained for questioning.

He added: 'CCTV footage showed that six men, aged between 20 and 30, scaled the boundary wall around 11.40pm and entered the school and disconnected the telephone lines.' 

The robbers then tied up and gagged a security guard before entering the nuns' room, where they found the women sleeping, police said.

When the victim, who is the oldest nun at the school, tried to stop them taking another woman into a separate room they raped her. 

Suspects: The CCTV footage has been released showing the suspects leaving the school's staff room around midnight on Friday. Five other men have been detained for questioning

Demonstrations: Prayers were said at churches across India yesterday for the victim. Hundreds of people staged a demonstration in Ranaghat, where the nun is being treated in hospital, to demand justice

Outrage: The robbers tied up and gagged a security guard before entering the nuns' room. Furious residents and students took to the streets after the attack to demand justice

Sorrow: Nuns gather in front of the convent. Archbishop Thomas D'Souza said the sisters prayed for the victim during Sunday Mass

The men escaped with some cash, a mobile phone, a laptop and a camera. They also ransacked the school's chapel and took holy items. Footage shows books and papers strewn across the floor as the men leave the staff room.

One sister, who flew in from Rome after the incident, said she had never heard of such an attack on a nun, even in conflict zones.

Mr Ghosh added: 'At least two of them were armed and the rest were carrying burglary tools. In the chapel, a holy scripture was found torn and a bust of Jesus was broken.' 

Furious residents took to the streets yesterday, shouting slogans demanding action and blocking off the main highway.

Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal Chief Minister, also tweeted her condemnation of what she called a 'horrific attack' promising 'swift, strong action'.

Solidarity: The nun is recovering in hospital in Ranaghat. Meanwhile hundreds of people, including schoolchildren, blocked off the main highway holding signs and candles

Defiant: The demonstrations highlighted the strength of public anger at the rape, which came at a time of great tension over the sexual abuse of women in India 

Prayers: Crowds of students lit dozens of candles at the peaceful protest yesterday

Strength in numbers: Students from the convent, dressed in a smart red and white uniform, held a candle-lit vigil for the injured nun

Archbishop Thomas D'Souza has appealed to people to maintain peace and harmony in the area.

He said: 'In our Sunday Mass, we prayed for the sister to recover quickly from trauma, fear and her physical injuries. We will pray for her again this evening.

'They not only committed a heinous crime, but they also vandalized the chapel. This is the first time such an attack has happened in India.'

Bewildered: Indian nuns, who normally lead relatively reclusive lives, suddenly found themselves at the centre of an unfolding story of national importance 

Scene of the crime: Police stand guard outside the convent school at Ranaghat, north of Calcutta, while the search for evidence continues

The incident comes at a time of heightened sensitivity over women's safety in India, which last week saw a documentary about the 2012 gang-rape of a student in Delhi being banned.

Authorities said screening the documentary could have caused public disorder, but critics accused the government of being more concerned with the country's reputation than the safety of its women. 

Shocking footage also emerged this week of an angry mob stripping and slowly beating a man to death in an Indian village after he was accused of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl. 

The prolonged attack on the 18-year-old was watched by a jeering 1,000-strong crowd.