An elderly Catholic nun was found dead in a convent in Pala in Kerala’s Kottayam District on Thursday morning. The police launched an investigation by a special team into the death after they preliminarily concluded that it could be a case of murder as deep wounds inflicted possibly with a blunt object were found in her head.
The body of Sr Amala (69) was found in her room at the lisieux Carmelite Convent near the KSRTC bus station in Pala at 7.00 AM on Thursday. The head was drenched in blood and there was a pool of blood in the room. Bloodstains were also found on the wall of the room, which had not been locked from inside.
Though there were indications that the nun could have been murdered amidst a burglary attempt as the nuns reported missing of Rs200 from another room, the police refused to go by that theory alone. The incident has occurred at a time when the case pertaining to the murder of another nun, Sr Abhaya (19), at another Kottayam convent in 1992 is yet to reach conclusion.
The body was found when other nuns of the convent went to check on Sr Amala after she failed to attend the morning mass at the convent’s chapel. Inmates said Sr Amala, hailing from Ramapuram in Kottayam district, had been taking rest for the past three-four days as she was suffering from fever.
The police found three deep wounds in the head and forehead of the nun from which blood had flowed out profusely. Sateesh Bino, Superintendent of Police, Kottayam, who visited the spot, said the wounds seemed to have been inflicted with a blunt object. Post-mortem report said the blow which caused the wound in the back of the head had caused death.
“At present, we can only say that it is a case of suspected murder,” said MR Ajithkumar, Inspector General of Police, Central Range. “We are just starting the investigation. We suspect that someone had entered the room from outside. Other inmates of the convent have said that there had been a burglary attempt,” he said.
The special investigation team constituted for probing the case is being headed by Suneesh Babu, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Pala and IGP Ajithkumar is overseeing the probe.
The dog squad and forensic experts examined the scene. The Pala Diocese of the Catholic Church said it did not want to issue any response at this juncture as an investigation was on.
Though the inmates of the convent expressed the suspicion that the incident could have occurred during a burglary attempt, the police said they did not want to jump to any conclusion at this stage. They pointed out that thieves need not target nuns as inmates of convents were not in the habit of keeping money or other valuables in their rooms.
They also said that the room did not show any signs of a tussle between Sr Amala and another person. “Also, the room of Sr Amala was not locked from Inside. Apart from that, the nuns staying in the adjacent rooms have not reported hearing any commotion from Sr Amala’s room. We cannot draw any conclusion without a thorough probe,” said a police official.