The body of a 54-year-old nun with both her wrists cut was found inside a well on the premises of Mount Tabor Dayara, a convent at Pathanapuram, Kollam, on Sunday. The convent is attached to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
The deceased has been identified as Sister Susamma, a teacher in the nearby St. Stephen’s School. Her body was found around 9.30 a.m. by other residents of the convent who followed a blood trail from her room. “We recovered from the room the blade apparently used for slitting the wrists. Though we cannot rush to a conclusion, preliminary reports hint at the possibility of a suicide,” said B. Asokan, District Police Chief, Kollam Rural.
The presence of bloodstains and cut hair in Sister Susamma’s room had sparked speculations, leading to the local people insisting on the presence of the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) before retrieving the body from water.
Ailments
Family sources said the nun was under treatment for epilepsy and gastroenteritis-related ailments. She had contacted a family member on Saturday night to discuss her medical condition.
According to the statements of other residents of the convent, and her colleagues, she had seemed depressed of late, mainly because of poor health. The nun was on leave for the past several days and had consulted doctors at hospitals in Parumala and Kollam recently. “She seemed normal on Saturday night after a hospital visit and had dinner with other residents of the convent. On Sunday, when others left for morning mass, she stayed back saying she was not feeling well. When the other nuns came back from the church they found her body in the well,” said Mr. Asokan.
Her body was retrieved by the police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel in the presence of the RDO. After forensic and fingerprint teams collected evidence, the body was sent to Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, for autopsy. Sister Susamma, a native of East Kallada, had joined the convent immediately after her schooling.
