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'The Sisters struggled and screamed, but hands came down and clamped their mouths'

On September 23, 1998, in a remote village, Bhandariya-Navapara of the Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh, a heinous crime was perpetrated. Four nuns were raped by a gang of 15 to 20 persons. Taking suo motu notice, the National Commission for Women decided to send its team for an on the spot investigation. The team consisted of the following: Dr Indira Basavraj, member, Dr Syeda Saiyidain Hameed, member, Sr Anne Mathews, lawyer, Chaitanya Prasad, under-secretary, NCW.

The team left Delhi for Indore on September 26, 1998. Upon reaching Indore the true horrific dimensions of the incident came to the fore. That night 15-20 unknown men arrived at the convent, Preeti Sharan Ashram, where the sisters lived. The sisters were aged 39 years, 28 years, 27 years and 24 years. They were living in the convent which is a sprawling single storey house with nine rooms including a chapel, a dispensary, a dining room and separate bedrooms for each of the sisters.

The mission was established by the church to serve the surrounding villages -- Bhandariya-Navapara, which have a population of 800-1000. The first sign of trouble appeared at 10:30 pm when a group of men with burning tapers were seen by the sisters outside the ashram grounds. The two chowkidars of the ashram were nowhere to be seen. The sisters kept a watch outside but there was nothing to be done since there is no telephone in the convent.

At around 2 am someone rang the doorbell two or three times. When the sisters asked what was the matter they said a child was ill and needed urgent medical attention. Someone mimicked the sound of a crying child. The sisters asked the men to bring a note from Fr Augustine (whose house is located at a distance of 200 yards) or call the chowkidars. The men replied that the Father was away and they must not delay.

The sisters heard the parish dog barking and someone throwing a stone at him. The oldest nun then went on the terrace and blew the emergency whistle, more than or twelve times. Upon hearing the whistle, the miscreants started throwing stones at the terrace. The nuns asked, where have you come from? They replied, the village Barod. The nuns urged them to go back and bring their animator Srr Veronica from the village, but they persisted in their demand to open the door.

The sister could hear the sound of the crowbars breaking open the lock and bending the iron grill gate. Realising the hopelessness of the situation, since no one from the village had responded to their whistles or to the barking of the dog, or to the sounds of altercation between them and the men, the sisters went into the chapel and locked themselves in.

They could hear the men break the front door, come in and ransack the house. Then they heard them came towards the chapel and demand that the lock be opened else they would break the door. The sisters realised the futility of resistance, so having made them promise not to harm them, they opened the door.

Some eight or ten men entered the chapel. Although the nuns could not make out much, one recalled the sound of a voice she knew to be that of one of the villagers, called Chumma.

Another recalled the cloth wrapped around their heads and their rustic clothing... They also noticed that a few men had bows and arrows and one even had a gun. Some men then bodily removed the sisters, half carrying them to the field in front of the house. They were all lain down in the tall wild grass, three close to one another and one at a distance. Then began the heinous act of gang-rape, by two, four and six men. The Sisters struggled and screamed, but hands came down and clamped their mouths.

They were thus molested for half an hour. The entire incident, from start to finish took about two hours. After having their will of the nuns, the gang left with their stolen booty. The sisters, three of whom were still in the field, then dragged themselves back to the house. It was now approximately 4 am.

Almost immediately after the rapists left the convent grounds, a group of villages from the nearest village, Barod, came with their lathis etc to rescue the hapless victims.

Our first meeting on arrival in Indore on September 26 (until late that night), was with Fr Pradeep Cherian, director, Indore Diocese Social Service Society, Fr Lucas of Bishop House and Sr Archana. Fr Cherian was one of the first persons to have reached Jhabua.

He explained to the NCW team that of the four nuns, two had been running the centre for over two years and two had arrived a couple of months ago. They had done excellent work in facilitating health delivery systems and elementary education.

We asked about the predominant faith in the area. He said that the tribals were mostly animists, pursuing tribal religions, with some Hindus and Christians. He also confirmed that there was no pre-condition laid down in the church that in any particular village, there had to be a certain percentage of Christians for the establishment of a mission.

When asked about conversions he said there were no cases of conversions; the present Christian population of the area goes back several generations. Later the divisional commissioner of Indore was to corroborate this statement. Fr Cherian also elaborated on the sequence of events which led to the administrative intervention later that morning. The FIR at Kalyanpura PS was registered at the request of Fr John Sunny of the Gopalpura church.

In his letter, the Father had stated that sisters had been attacked and goods had been stolen from the Gopalpura-Bhandariya mission. The FIR was then written and signed by SHO O P Dwivedi.

The next morning, at 8:30 am we met with the Bishop of Indore, Reverend G M Anathil and the director of Indore School of Social Work Dr W S K Phillips. The reverend told us about the meeting of all the bishops of the state on September 24 and the submission of a memorandum to the CM of Madhya Pradesh. He said the bishops were pained at the insensitivity of the police in dealing with crimes against women. All their institutions across Madhya Pradesh remained closed on September 25 as a mark of protest. Later that morning, the Christian community was taking out a protest march. We lingered near the church at which the priest was giving a sermon about the incident. All the people in attendance were wearing black ribbons. Dr Phillips said the previous day there was a large meeting of NGOs at the school who registered their strong protest. Bishop Anathil presented a memorandum to the NCW team which stated the deep concern of the church.

The team next met with a group of 20 women belonging to different NGOs of the city who expressed their outrage at the shameful episode and demanded the most stringent punishment for the rapists. They all said in tribal culture women, especially nuns, had never been harmed before. Some of the NGOs who had been working in the area since 1958 said they had never come across an incident of rape. They felt that the incident had been carefully planned and the daily habits of the nuns were carefully watched before striking.

Consumption of drinks, they said, was a daily feature among the tribals as also was looting and robbery. Recently they had noticed the impact of consumerism on their lifestyles. All the NGOs were most vociferous about the fact that such incidents evoke a momentary storm, but are soon forgotten. They urged the NCW to demand a time bound inquiry and recommend amendments to rape laws and special courts for speedy justice.

The team then left for Navapara, accompanied by the divisional commissioner, Indore, Iqbal Ahmed. We landed at the strip at Kalyanpura where the police station is located at which the FIR had been registered by Fr John Sunny. Our first priority was to visit the nuns who had been moved to the Gopalpura church campus (about 15 km from the scene of crime), which is one of the oldest churches of the area. In private we spoke to the four distraught victims who narrated their painful story, but with great restraint and dignity. The fact that this was done by the very people whom they had served with such devotion, had come as a great shock to them. They found it difficult to believe that the tribals could have victimised them in such a brutal manner.

Their work invariably took them to the houses of the villagers where they treated the sick children and women. They held informal classes for the children and had excellent relations with the parents. They could recall one incident when they annoyed a villager because they asked for a small sum (Rs 80) which he owed for medicines. But there was no conflict which could have merited the enormity of the crime. They still felt sympathy for the women and children who were so dependent on them. They recounted how they had always been treated with the greatest respect by the tribals. While we were talking to them, outside in the church yard many villagers had gathered. We spoke to a few who expressed their shock and dismay at the event.

'He could not explain why it took him five hours to mobilise the villagers"

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