NEW DELHI - A nun who was allegedly raped during recent anti-Christian violence in eastern India demanded a federal probe Friday, and accused local police of shielding her attackers.

The nun was reportedly assaulted by a rioting mob on August 25, days after the murder of a Hindu priest sparked attacks by Hindu extremists on the Christian community in coastal Orissa state.

More than half-a-dozen people have been arrested over the incident.

Barwa, 29, said she was dragged to a burned-out Christian home where two men held her down and a third raped her. She was then beaten with sticks and paraded semi-naked in the streets as mobs threatened to gang rape her.

"They pulled out my sari and one of them stepped on my right hand and another on my left hand and then a third person raped me," said Barwa, who covered her face with a scarf while speaking.

She was then paraded in the streets, along with a priest.

"They had already torn away my blouse and undergarments," she said. "And they went on beating me with hands on my cheeks and head and with sticks on my back."

At least 35 people died in weeks of anti-Christian attacks in Orissa and nearly 50,000 fled their homes. Many of them remain in state-run shelters.

Pope Benedict XVI strongly condemned the violence.

This week, India's Supreme Court rejected a plea by a Catholic bishop for a federal investigation into the alleged rape, saying the matter should be probed by the Orissa police.

Religious clashes erupt periodically in India where only 2.3 percent of the more than 1.1 billion population are practising Christians.

Hardline Hindu groups accuse missionaries of bribing poor tribes people and low-caste Hindus to convert to Christianity by offering free education and health care.