Author: Rifat Jawaid
in Calcutta
Publication: Rediff
on Net
Date: September 21,
2000
Missionaries of Charity
superior-general Sister Nirmala denied media reports on Wednesday that
a Calcutta court had fined her in connection with a case of harassing a
destitute at a missionary rehabilitation centre.
Sister Nirmala admitted,
in a faxed statement, that the sister-in-charge of the Mahatma Gandhi welfare
centre had tortured four girls with a hot knife. She added that Sister
Francesca had ''admitted her guilt with great sorrow''.
"Though Francesca's intention
was only to correct the children for stealing money, she definitely over-stepped
her limits. We at the Missionary of Charity regret this unfortunate
incident. The children are cared for and we will continue caring
for them and their families as we have been doing all along," Sister Nirmala
added.
The father of a victim,
Kaviran Mondal, had lodged a complaint against Sister Francesca under Section
324 of the Indian Penal Code. Sister Nirmala appeared before the
court of the chief metropolitan magistrate on Monday, where she was reportedly
granted bail, with a bond of Rs 500. Sister Nirmala, however, refuted
the reports.
Missionary spokesperson
Sunita Kumar told rediff.com that the judge did not even want the sister
to appear, ''but somebody had to represent the organisation''.
"If Mother Teresa was
alive, she would have appeared on behalf of the organisation. The
court has fixed the next hearing on September 30," Kumar said.
According to Sister Nirmala,
''old age prompted the sister to harass the girls''.
"Sister Francesca is
75 and people at this age often tend to lose their patience over minor
issues. However, the incident must not have occurred at all.
Even the person who filed the case knows her sincerity. Mondal has
been instigated to initiate legal action against us," she remarked.
On whether this had tarnished
the image of the missionaries, Kumar said it was minor. She also
clarified that no one from the missionary would persuade Mondal to withdraw
the case. "If he does so willingly, we will welcome it, but we will
neither exert pressure nor request him to do so," Kumar added.
According to Kumar, the
four girls, all rag-pickers, have not stopped coming to the centre at Tirhatti
bazaar in central Calcutta. She, however, claimed that she did not
know their addresses.
Mondal was not available
for comment.
Sister Francesca has
been asked to stay put in the welfare centre. Sister Nirmala said
she was not keeping well and physicians had advised her complete bed rest.
