KOTTAYAM:The suspected murder of Sister Amala, 69, of Lisieux Carmelite Convent in Pala is proving to be a headache for the police with a wide range of suspicious elements cropping up. Though the district police have almost confirmed it to be a murder, they are clueless as to who committed it for what motive.
Amala was found dead in a pool of blood in her room on the third floor of the building, on Thursday morning. Door of the room was left ajar. According to police, the inmates of the convent comprise as many as 34 nuns and 17 Higher Secondary School students. Though Amala had been staying in a single room, it forms part of a dormitory-like hall and it is not easy for a person from outside to enter the room and escape after committing the crime. No one can easily reach the third floor without help from the inmates.
According to sources, the investigation team is also probing why the inmates wiped blood off the victim’s face and changed her dress before the police had arrived on the spot, as reported.
The officials of the convent told the investigation team that Rs 500 in cash was lost from another room on the second floor, forcing the police to look into the aspects of robbery as well. The reported theft took place when the doctor went to hospital around midnight on Thursday. The investigation team took statements from the inmates and collected maximum evidences on the first day itself. According to police, there were injuries on the victim’s upper head, forehead and back of the head, inflicted probably with a blunt object. However, the investigation team could not collect any material evidence from the spot. They got fingerprints from the back door of the convent which was thoroughly checked by the forensic and fingerprint experts. The sniffer dog led the cops to the nearby Carmel Hospital and later to the KSRTC bus stand in Pala town.
Meanwhile, post-mortem was conducted on the body of Amala at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam and the body was handed over to the convent authorities by evening. The post-mortem report will be crucial in the investigation into the case. It is learnt that the forensic doctors have confirmed that the blunt injuries had caused the death.