The family of a young nun who committed suicide in Kollam on  Monday has alleged that she was being sexually harassed by a senior nun and tortured for the last two months.

The body of Sr Anupa, 22, was found hanging in her room at St Mary’s Convent, Port Kollam, about 80 km from here around 4 pm.

A member of the Vimala Hrudaya Franciscan congregation, she was the second of the six children of Pappachan and Bijiamma of Kanjirode near Kundara in Kollam. Police recovered a suicide note in which she expressed her difficulty in adjusting with her new environment and also her disagreement with the mother superior of the convent.

Pappachan virtually dropped a bombshell on Tuesday by alleging that his daughter was also being forced into a lesbian relationship and physically tortured during the past two months. “My daughter was forced to do many things that a nun normally did not have to,’’ he says. “She was made to clean toilets, sweep the premises and wash the floor. And, when she retired to her room tired after doing all these things, the mother superior would get into bed with her,’’ he said. “If this nun was not trying to do what a man does, what else was she doing in bed with her? I came to know about this from my wife only after my child committed suicide,” said Pappachan trying to hold back his tears.

Women’s panel ‘upbeat’

The incident, though unfortunate, has come as a shot in the arm for the Kerala State Women’s Commission. “What we stated sometime ago, that in convents inmates are being ill-treated, now stands vindicated,” said former judge D Sreedevi who heads the commission. The panel had two months ago demanded certain rules for girls enrolling as nuns thereby inviting the ire of Christian organisations. 

Justice Sreedevi said the commission would review the police investigation in the case and if needed conduct its own inquiry. She said the commission was already collecting evidence secretly in  complaints received from nuns. Meanwhile, Pappachan said he would “go to any extent to reveal the truth”.

www.deccanherald.com/Content/Aug132008/national200808