The National Commission for Women on Thursday said that the alleged kidnapping and gangrape of five workers of a non-governmental organisation at gunpoint in Jharkhand’s Khunti district was “pre-planned”, PTI reported. The panel questioned the role of the manager of the school from where the women were abducted.

The women were abducted on June 19 while they were performing a play at a school in Kochang village. They were reportedly taken to a nearby forest at gunpoint and then raped. They were later released. Last week, the police arrested two people in connection with the incident.

The National Commission for Women’s observations came after a three-member fact-finding team met the five survivors, and scrutinised the actions taken by the state administration, ANI reported. The team also questioned some nuns. The panel has raised doubts over the role played by Father Alfonso Alien, the school manager, who the police have accused of not informing them about the incident.

The police had detained Alien on January 21 for questioning and then released him on a personal bond.

“Alien also persuaded the victims to not disclose the facts to anyone,” the commission said on Thursday. “It is, therefore, considered that he has definitely acted contrary to the legal requirements and possibly connived with the accused in committing the crime.”