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Dead nun's family suspects foul-play

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

With the police in Kerala failing to make any breakthrough in their investigation into the death of Sr Paulcy, the nun's family members and an all-party action council are gearing up for a legal battle to demand a high level inquiry into the case.

The 35-year-old nun was found dead in a convent near Palai in Kottayam district on May 25. The move, coming on the heels of the Ernakulam chief judicial magistrate's order to the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct an 'honest' investigation to trace the murder of Sister Abhaya (21), has roused passions in the Christian-dominated central Travancore region.

The CBI had sought to close the 8-year-old Abhaya case saying it was unable to trace the culprits. It had sited the destruction of property by the local police, which handled the case initially, for the failure. In the Paulcy case also, the family members and the action council have expressed dissatisfaction over the inquiry being conducted by the police in Palai.

Action council convenor Advocate Siby Mathew Thakidiyil said they had decided to approach the court for a high level inquiry into the case after their plea for transferring the case from the local police to Crime Branch did not yield any result.

Sibi Mathew feels this could be due to the pressure on the government from the Church. Various Christian organisations in the state had demanded a CBI inquiry into the case in the light of the growing number of suspicious deaths in convents. Indian Institute of Christian Studies director Joseph Pulikunnel had met Chief Minister E K Nayanar and apprised him of the seriousness of the case.

Mathew said legal recourse was the only option to unravel the mystery shrouding the death. He said they would file a petition in the Kerala high court soon.

Though the church authorities tried to pass off Paulcy's death as due to heart attack, the post-mortem report revealed that death occurred due to some strong poisonous substance, possibly the insecticide Furidan. The absence of any trace of poison in her mouth added to the mystery, since usually in such cases traces of poison vomit are found in the mouth.

Convent sources say Paulcy was under treatment for high blood pressure and she died of heart ailment. Soon after her death the convent authorities inserted advertisements in a Malayalam daily saying that Paulcy had died of heart ailment.

However, the post-mortem report said all the main arteries of the nun were functioning normally with no obstructions. The report said the coverings of the heart, pericardial fluid and blood vessels were normal. Its walls, valves and chambers were normal and coronary arteries were patent, the report added.

However, the chemical analysis, which is needed to substantiate the poisoning theory, is yet to be completed.

The police said Paulcy was found unconscious in a bathroom of the Karoor Snehagiri Convent at 2 am on May 18 but she was not rushed to hospital. The police station, two km away, was informed of her death only at 6 am. When the police arrived at the convent the sister's body was found in nun's habit . The news of the death reached Paulcy's house 8 km away only by 8 am.

The body was removed to the Kottayam Medical College Hospital for post-mortem only after the public raised doubts over of foul play. Paulcy's mother and sister say she there was no reason why she should have committed suicide, and that she had chosen the vocation on her own accord 15 years ago.

P C George, Kerala Congress-J legislator, says unearthing the truth behind the nun's death was of utmost importance not only to the Christian community but to the entire society. "I hope the Church authorities, who are waging a vociferous war against the attacks on Christian priests and nuns in north India, will come out to lead the struggle," he added.

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