Kerala nun’s body found in convent well

SISTER MAY HAVE BEEN DRAGGED TO THE WELL FROM HER ROOM — INITIAL REPORTS

In an eerie throwback to the 1990s when the body of Sister Abhaya was found in the well of a convent in Kottayam, a Kerala nun’s body has been found in a well at Pathanapuram in Kollam district yesterday.

The deceased nun has been identified as Sr Susan Mathew, 54, a nun attached to the Mount Tabor Dayara Convent of the Orthodox Church.

The deceased nun was a teacher at the Pathanapuram St Stephen’s School.

The body was located after blood stains were found near the well, prompting members of the convent to look into the well yesterday morning.

Police and fire service personnel rushed to the convent. The body was not taken out immediately, with police waiting for forensic experts to reach the scene before retrieving the body. Early reports said blood stains were found near the well and on the pillar of the well, and that the sister appeared to have been dragged to the well from her room in the convent.

Her compatriots in the convent said she was missing at the time of the morning prayers and that the body was found only when a search was launched. The development comes at a time when five nuns of a Catholic convent in Kuravilangad in Kottayam district have launched a protest to demand the arrest of Franco Mulakkal, the bishop of Jalandhar, who is accused of raping a nun multiple times. Sr Abhaya’s body was found in the well of the St Pius Convent in Kottayam in March, 1992 and the perpetrators are yet to be identified. Two priests and a nun were arrested in the case, but they were granted bail later.