1. Sister Valsa murder: police try to bury case by
arresting people close to the ...
11/21/2011 14:18
INDIA
Sister Valsa murder: police try to bury case by arresting people close to the Maoists
by Nirmala Carvalho
But the Church is continuing its investigations into the coal mafia. According to Father
Tom Kavalatt SJ, longtime friend of the Catholic nun and director of the Social Action
Centre, the seven arrested "are a cover to protect the interests of others."
Dhumka (AsiaNews) - Police in Jharkhand claim to have solved the murder case of Sister
Valsa John, the nun of the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary murdered on the night of
November 15, by arresting seven people close to the Maoists who operates in the area.
But Catholic leaderrs doubt this sudden turn of the investigation, arguing that behind the
arrest is an attempt to hide the interests of the powerful coal lobby, with which the nun
had clashed several times in the past.
According to Inspector General Arun Oraon, the murder took place to prevent Sister
Valsa from accompanying a young person to lodge a complaint of an attempted rape,
committed by Edwin Murmu. Those arrested killed Sister Valsa because otherwise "she
would use her influence to have Murmu arrested." Among those arrested, Marandi
Ranjan, known for his links with the Maoists.
Fr. Tom Kavalatt SJ, director of the Action Social Center and longtime friend of Sister
Valsa, told AsiaNews: "There are many speculations about the murder of Sister Valsa.
Although these seven defendants claim to have the groups behind nassaliti (Maoists, ed)
area, we are still investigating. It is possible that others have used their ingenuity to cover
the interests of those who wanted to take out Sister Valsa ".
All-faith prayer in Kolkata for Sister Valsa
IBNLive.com - 1 hour ago
PTI | 07:11 PM,Nov 21,2011 Kolkata, Nov 21 (PTI) An all-faith prayer was today held in
the city in memory of Sister Valsa John, a nun of the Sister of Charity, brutally killed by
some miscreants at Pakur in Jharkhand last week. Co-adjutor of Archbishop ...
Nun murder case: Police protecting real killers?
IBNLive.com - 10 minutes ago
Ranchi: Seven days have passed since Sister Valsa Jhon, a Nun from Kerala who was
part of a group campaigning against the coal mafia, was gunned down by a group of
unidentified men in Pakur, Jharkhand. Though the police on Monday arrested seven ...
2. 11/19/2011 09:48
INDIA http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Secular-and-Christians-demand-justice-for-
the-nun-murdered-by-the-Mafia-Coal-23219.html
Secular and Christians demand justice for the nun murdered by the Mafia Coal
by Nirmala Carvalho
All appeals denounce the "shameless" link between the powerful coal companies and the
State. Fr. Cedric Prakash, director of the Center for Justice and Peace in Ahmedabad
Prashant: "The Martyrdom of Sister Valsa is a challenge for the Church in India." Sajan
K George, President of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC): "The
government, led by Hindu extremists, is the real culprit."
Dhumka (AsiaNews) - It is a matter of "national shame" that the "profound link between
the powerful coal companies and the state machine has cost the precious life of a woman
who was working to ensure the basic rights of the marginalized." Secular and Christian
associations condemn the murder of Sister Valsa John, 53, the nun of the Sisters of
Charity of Jesus and Mary shot dead by a group of 40 men on the night of November 15.
A native of Kerala, the nun for 20 years had dedicated her life to the Santal tribal region
Dhumka (State of Jharkhand), fighting for their rights and against the expropriation of
their land by powerful coal lobby.
"The lobby of the coal mines - said Fr Cedric Prakash, Jesuit director of the Center for
Justice and Peace Prashant, Ahmedabad - have become increasingly powerful. Their
relationship with police and politicians is shameless. No one has the courage to touch
them. The Martyrdom of Sister Valsa is a wake-up call for the entire country and a
challenge for the Church in India. Christianity, here, clearly must be lived alongside the
poor, the marginalized, the oppressed and exploited. The Church must support them in a
practical way in their struggle for a more equitable, just and humane society.
Demonstrating a resolute courage, even at the cost of losing privileges. Jesus did just that.
" The Jesuit then cites the encyclical of Benedict XVI Caritas in Veritate: "Love - caritas
- is an extraordinary force which drives people to commit themselves with courage and
generosity in the field of justice and peace. It is a force that has its origin in God, Eternal
Love and Absolute Truth. "
Sajan K George, President of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), said: "The
GCIC believes the State Government, led by Hindu radicals, is responsible for the brutal
murder, and demand a CBI investigation into the murder of Sister Valsa John. "
The National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), the National Fishworkers' Forum
(NFF) and the National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers (Nffpfw) signed a
joint communique in which they demand an investigation of the likely connections
between the murder of Sister Valsa and death threats that she had received from the coal
mafia.
"Sister Valsa - reads the statement - Sr. Valsa had been under constant threat from Panem
Coal Ltd. and had voiced the same to friends and family. The Superintendent of Police
has confirmed that she had filed an FIR three years ago where she reported that she was
3. facing death threats. To defend their rights to the land and its resources, the Santal
community has created the Pajad Rajmahal Bachao Andolan with the help of Sister
Valsa. Despite the agreement signed in 2006, tensions in the area recently increased,
culminating with the murder of the nun. Sister Valsa received constant intimidation from
Panem Coal Ltd. The Superintendent of Police confirmed that three years ago, the
religious filed a complaint against death threats. But the state never intervened, and has
even tried to discredit her figure with the media. "
11/17/2011 14:04
INDIA http://www.asianews.it/news-en/India,-funeral-for-Catholic-nun-murdered-by-
Coal-Mafia-23203.html
India, funeral for Catholic nun murdered by Coal Mafia
by Nirmala Carvalho
Sister Valsa, 53, of the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, had worked for 20 years
with the Santal tribals in the region of Dhumka. A gang shot her in cold blood in front of
her house. In the past she had received numerous threats from members of the local mafia
for issues related to settlements close to the coal mines. Local bishop: "Her martyrdom
strengthens and renews the Church's mission in India."
Dhumka (AsiaNews) – The funeral of Sister Valsa John, originally from Kerala took
place this morning in the cathedral of Dumka (Jharkhand State). The Catholic religious
was gunned down on the night of November 15 last by a group of unknown persons.
Among the crowd that filled the cathedral, the brother, sister and two nephews of the nun,
who for 20 years dedicated her life to the Santal tribal region. Bishop Julius Marandi of
Dumka, told AsiaNews: "Her violent death was a terrible shock and a great loss to the
Church. We seek justice, but while we mourn this loss, our mission for the poor, the weak
and voiceless will continue, strengthened and renewed by the blood of Sister Valsa, who
now intercedes for human rights, justice, dignity and hope of these people. "
There have been no official statements yet regarding the murder of Sister Valsa, which
took place in front of her house, but many suspect the coal Mafia, which operates in the
region, is responsible. The Catholic nun, 53 years, belonged to the Sisters of Charity of
Jesus and Mary and several times had been approached by local crime gang member, for
issues related to the coal mines. "Our sister – says her elder brother MJ Baby, - had told
us about the threats, but was firm on her positions in favor of the tribals. I did not think
the would kill her. " The family had seen the nun for the last time in August, when she
returned to Kochi for a brief visit.
Fr. Tom Kavala, SJ, who has worked for over 15 years with the nun, told AsiaNews:
"Sister Valsa created a tribal organization to stop the expropriation of land sought by the
powerful coal lobbies, including helping them to obtain compensation from companies.
Six years ago, one of these lobbies e tried to buy out nine villages and Sister Valsa
mobilized the local poor people. These coal barons lodged 33 complaints against her and
her supporters, and many of them ended up in prison".
"Sister Valsa - said Mgr. Marandi - paid for her struggle for the poor and defenseless,
4. against the interests of the powerful coal mafia with her life. The Church of Dumka and
all Jharkhand pray that her martyrdom will renew the mission of the Church to be a
witness of faith. "
After taking her vows in 1984, Sister Valsa started teaching economics at St George High
School in Kochi (Kerala), but soon left teaching to devote her life to mission among the
Dhumka tribals. In 2007 she was arrested for protesting against a coal mine built illegally
on land of the tribals in the district of Pakur.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/nun-murder-case-police-protecting-real-killers/204472-3.html
See video at above IBN link
Ranchi: Seven days have passed since Sister Valsa John, a Nun from Kerala who was
part of a group campaigning against the coal mafia, was gunned down by a group of
unidentified men in Pakur, Jharkhand. Though the police on Monday arrested seven
suspects, but they are still not sure if it's the mafia or local villagers who are behind the
murder.
"The villagers were unhappy that she was about to expose them in a rape case," said Arun
Kumar Oraon, IG, Santhal Pargana, Jharkhand.
Valsa's supporters aren't for the moment buying the police's explanation. They believe it's
a much larger conspiracy involving the highly influential coal mafia hand in glove with
the police.
"We had gone their after she was killed. The police is threatening us. I am sure this is the
work of the coal mafia," said Gopi Ghosh, a supporter of Sister Valsa.
Valsa killing created a ripple in the coal belt and strong protests followed for nabbing
those responsible. The immediate needle of suspicion was pointed towards the coal
mafias and big coal companies, whose business interests got hampered time to time by
Valsa's agitation.
"There should be a CBI enquiry," said Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahai.
By suggesting the villagers killed Valsa because she was about to expose them in a rape
case, the police it seems have pointedly refused to explore other possibilities.
A Nun's murder poses questions for State and Church
Submitted by admin4 on 21 November 2011 - 4:24pm
http://twocircles.net/2011nov21/nuns_murder_poses_questions_state_and_church.html
Activist and Whistle-blower Sr Valsa John pays with her life for defending the
Tribals’ ownership of their land, minerals and forests,
says John Dayal,
5. It was proper that the candlelight vigil in memory of Sister Valsa John of Dumka,
Jharkhand, on Friday 18th November 2011 at New Delhi’s Sacred Heart Cathedral
became a celebration of her life, the work of Christian activists in defence of the rights
and dignity of the poor, tribals, dalits and marginalised.
It also posed a challenge to the Church in general if it would retreat in fear at the brutality
of Valsa’s sacrifice, or get courage from the luminescence of her sacrifice and go deeper
into territories of human rights still uncharted -- obeying the demands of Caritas in
Veritate, love and the Truth underpinning the social teachings of the church. It also had a
message for the State, the government and the political, bureaucratic and criminal justice
system – will they wake up to the threat posed to society in general and to whistle
blowers and rights defenders in particular from the unholy regime of impunity and the
conspiracy between vested interests in governance and the corporate sector for whom
profits are God.
Valsa John’s fellow activists in Jharkhand, New Delhi and elsewhere, mourned a
comrade. The gathered Archbishops, Bishops, Nuns, Priests and Laity felt the loss of a
person who heard the call of God when she was already working as a teacher. Valsa had
responded to that call with an alacrity and sincerity that surely will remain a lesson for
many more than just her congregation, the illustrious Sisters of Charity of Jesus and
Mary. To the common people, Sr. Valsa John is a Martyr whose blood would not go in
vain. But they also wanted to find out why she was murdered, calling for a high level
enquiry, possibly by the Central Bureau of Investigations, into the criminal conspiracy
behind her dastardly murder because Jharkhand State’s police investigation and justice
system are rickety at best, and often part of the corporate and mafia conspiracies.
Sr Valsa John, 52, is the fourth social activist killed in unexplained circumstances in
India this year. Like many other activists, trade union leaders and Right To Information
crusaders, she had a premonition of her death, and had warned friends and relative, and
perhaps even the police, that she feared a brutal end.
Valsa was brutally murdered in her room in a rented house in Pachaura, In Pakur in
Dumka district of Jharkhand late at night on Tuesday, 15th November 2011. The
bloodstained floor of Sister Valsa’s room bore testimony to the violence. She had been
attacked by a group, said to number anywhere from two dozen to forty men armed with
swords, axes and other weapons. Her head was nearly severed from her body. Some
Maoist literature and a spade were left behind, possibly as a ruse.
Many immediate theories were floated to account for the attack. One was that Valsa may
have incurred the wrath of a group of local criminals for seeking justice for a raped tribal
girl and that may have been the immediate provocation . Valsa had sought an
appointment with Pakur deputy commissioner S K Singh after the Amrapara police
refused to lodge an FIR against the alleged rapists. Singh did not deny that an
appointment had been sought, newspapers reported, quoting him as saying “She may
have contacted my office for an appointment.” Amrapara police maintained no FIR about
a rape had been lodged at the police station, although they detained two persons for
6. questioning today in connection with the murder. A deathly silence remains in Pachaura,
the village where Valsa was butchered.
The local media too has taken sides, some imputing motives. The local reporters of the
large media such as the Times of India have particularly come in for scrutiny for their
apparently biased reporting.
Valsa was laid to rest at the Christian cemetery at Dudhani in Dumka on 17th November
after the Mass in St. Paul’s Cathedral. Her eldest brother, Baby Malamel, and two of her
nephews, from Kochi were present for the funeral. About 600 to 700 people were present
for the funeral, 200 of whom were from the village Pachaura where she lived.Even as her
body as buried in the Jharkhand she had come to love, Valsa has been espoused by
national and international organisations working in Human Rights. Amnesty International
asked for an enquiry at the highest level, suspecting the hand of mining mafia. Cardinal
Telesphore Toppo called it a shame for the state. Officials of almost every church
organisation – from the Catholic and Syrian Churches to the Evangelical and Pentecost
denominations, made common cause, calling her a martyr in the cause of serving the
poor, as mandated by Jesus Christ who she loved so dearly.
Sr Mary Scaria, an Advocate of the Supreme Court of India and also an activist, recalled
Sr Valsa as a member of her own congregation, the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary
known for their work in education and activists in various parts of the country. The
Congregation was founded on the 4th November in 1803, in a little village of
Lovendegem in the diocese of Gent, Belgium by the parish priest, Fr. Peter Joseph Triest,
in the aftermath of the French Revolution which left so much poverty and misery,
specially that of the children. On 4 November 2003 the Congregation celebrated 200
hundred years of living out the charism of the Sisters of Charity. Following the footsteps
of the founder, no challenge was too great, no request too trivial and no one too precious.
This has been a sacred history during which every milestone has seen the deepening of
the threefold dimension of the SCJM life of love - Love for God her father, love for one
another and love for all peoples especially the poor, the abandoned and those who are
deprived of love and dignity in the world. The sisters are active in England, France,
Ireland, Netherlands, Israel, Rwanda, Mali, Congo, South Africa, Venezuela, India, Sri
Lanka, Pakistan, the Republic of Central Africa and Rome. The Mother house of the
Congregation is in Ghent, Belgium.
This was the congregation Valsa chose to be her destiny.
Valsa was born on 19 March 1958 at Vazhakala village of Idappally in Ernakulam
District of Kerala, the second child of her parents. A good student, she went on to
become a teacher in her home town’s St. Pius UP School,. Her life still felt unfulfilled,
and one day Valsa decided she would live and work for the poor and exploited people of
our country. The Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary had a convent in her village and
she approached them and told them about her wish. They told her that the SCJM sisters
work in the rural areas, mainly among the marginalized people and through this
congregation; she would be able to fulfil her desire. She did not hesitate. After her
7. religious training she was assigned to Palamu district. In 1993 she came to Sahibganj
district and worked with the Jesuit Fathers at Kodma. She was transferred to Jiapani
Mission in 1995.
Jesuit priest and tribal intellectual-activist Dr Marianus Kujur says “If she wanted she
could have had a cosy and comfortable life in ‘God’s own country’, where she started her
career as a teacher more than 20 years ago. But she did not.
She came to Pachaura in 1998 and the anti-mines movement in the area started in 2000,
working for the people in coal mining areas of Jharkhand for 12 years and guided them in
their struggles. She perhaps did not realise it then, but she was joining a distinguished
band of people who had fought for the right of the tribals. Long ago in the 1880s,
suffocated by injustice and oppression from all sides visionary leader Sido of Bognadih
village near Barhait sent a clarion call to all the Santhals to get organized and rise up in
arms. His brothers Kanhu, Chand and Bhairav and his sisters Phulo and Jhano too joined
him to give his leadership shape and substance. This, historians recall, resulted in the
legendary Santhal rebellion of 1855, which swept the British administrators off their feet.
Valsa landed in the midst of important developments – the issue of rights over the coal in
that mineral rich region. Kataldih village near Amrapara block in Pakur district has
reserves of good quality of coal on a very large scale The main users are the Punjab State
Electricity Board and the private sector Emta Group of companies – collectively called
the Panem coal mines..
Human Rights group Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, PUCL, investigated the issue
back in 2003 and published a detailed report on the Pachaura coal mining project when
the media began reporting resistance from local tribals to the Project. The PSEB is a
‘public utility service’ wholly owned by the Government of Punjab. By a letter of the
Ministry of Coal and Mines (Department of Coal), letter No. 47011/1(4) 2000- CPAM
dated 26th December, 2001, Pachaura Central Block was allotted to the PSEB for captive
mining for supply of coal on an exclusive basis to its own power plants. The PSEB
formed a Joint Venture Company, PANEM Coal Mines Limited, with Eastern Minerals
and Trading Agency (EMTA) to produce, supply, transport and deliver coal from the
coalmines of Pachaura Central Block, exclusively to PSEB thermal power stations.
According to Gazette notification, by the Ministry of Coal and Mines (Department of
Coal) F.no.38011/4/2002 CA, dated Feb.22, 2002, the Central Government specified “as
an end use the supply of Coal from the Pachaura Central Block by PANEM Coal Mines
Limited on an exclusive basis to the power plants of Punjab Electricity Board for
generation of thermal power.
PUCL noted that the Government surveyed and delineated the whole area covering 41
square kilometers with demarcated divisions such as North, South and Central Blocks.
Pachaura Central Block is given to PSEB. This Block measures approximately 13 square
kilometers covering nine revenue villages (mouzas) such as Singhdehri, Taljhari,
Kathaldih, Chilgo, Bisunpur, Dangapara, Amjhari, Liberia and Pachaura. It is estimated
that Pachaura Central Block holds 562 million ton of coal reserve. Out of this reserve it
8. was proposed that in an area of approximately 13 square kilometers open cast mining will
be done in 11 square kilometers. The Central Block envisaged 44 years of open cast
mining to extract 289 million tons of coal. The Jharkhand Government is expected to get
annual royalty at the rate of Rs. 100 crores.
The Government claimed it was legally within its power to acquire land for specific
purpose given the Land Acquisition Act. The PUCL team heard the local people who said
“We have been living here for long. Our forefathers Sido and Kanhu and their followers
sacrificed their lives and won for us freedom from oppression and gave us an identity.
And all of a sudden, like a bolt from the blue, we hear that someone is coming to enter
our premises and oust us as if we are encroachers and criminals.”
The people knew that that elsewhere in Santhal Parganas, at Lalmatia and at Chitra,
collieries have displaced and decimated tribals and most of the promises of rehabilitation
remained only on paper. The PUCL report highlighted that the tribal community is a
cohesive community with its communitarian mode of living, interaction and decision-
making. It depends on a life close to nature with its rivers and forests, with agricultural
fields and grazing lands, places of communitarian gatherings for festivals and village
functions. It also has its ancestral abode right in its midst. It is in this socio-cultural
phenomenon they live and conduct their affairs. Their homes may be mud walled and
grass roofed but they have a beauty and functional practicality of their own. Land is their
most important natural and valuable asset and imperishable endowment from which the
tribals derive their sustenance, social status, economic and social equality, permanent
place of abode and work and living. It is a security and source fr economic
empowerment. Therefore, the tribes too have great emotional attachment to their lands.
Civil servant and later Commissioner for Scheduled Tribes Dr. B. D. Sharma has noted
this was the thesis behind Jawaharlal Nehru’s Panchsheel which enunciated that “ people
would develop along the lines of their own genius and we should avoid imposing
anything on them. We should try to encourage in every way their own traditional arts and
culture. Tribal rights in land and forest should be respected. We should try to build up a
team of their own people to do the work of administration and development. Some
technical personnel from outside will, no doubt, be needed, especially in the beginning.
But we should avoid introducing too many outsiders into tribal territory. We should not
over administer these areas or overwhelm them with a multiplicity of schemes. We
should rather work through, and not in rivalry to, their own social and cultural
institutions. We should judge results, not by statistics, or the amount of money spent, but
by the quality of human character that is evolved.”
This was codified in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution which is an integral scheme of
the Constitution with direction, philosophy and anxiety to protect the tribes from
expropriation. Its objective is ‘to preserve tribal autonomy, their culture and economic
empowerment to ensure social, economic and political justice for preservation of peace
and good government in the Scheduled Areas. B D Sharma said all actions of the State
must be in furtherance of the above Constitutional objective and dignity of persons
belonging to the Scheduled Tribes, preserving the integrity of the Scheduled Areas and
9. ensuring distributive justice as an integral scheme thereof. The executive in the name of
the Governor stands vested with all the necessary powers, perhaps more, for achieving
the aforesaid objectives.”. Sr Valsa John believed in this thesis of justice for the tribals.
The sustained resistance of the people forced the PSEB to work out a rehabilitation
package which included monetary compensation, employment against land in exceptional
circumstances only to fill vacancies, jobs for one member of a family which has lost three
or more acres of land,
Sr Valsa had been jailed in 2007 for protesting against the forced acquisition of adivasi
lands for Panem. It was because of her role in negotiations with all the authorities that a
more comprehensive agreement was worked out. The agreement with Panem paved the
way for alternate land, employment, a health centre and free education for the children of
the displaced families. Apart from economic rehabilitation and resettlement benefits, the
company agreed to fill the pits of the open cast mines, level them, put good sand, make it
cultivable and give back the land to the people. It agreed to a crop compensation for the
land under mining at Rs. 6000 per acre per year, a share of the profit to the people (Rs.
10,000 per acre per year) till they fill the pits and give back the land to the people and
undertaking to level the remaining land of the people and make it fit for better cultivation
using lift irrigation facilities. The company also agreed to jobs for the affected people,
free education, a hospital with all modern facilities, quarters with four rooms and a
veranda and the standard facilities under existing government rules.
As the local media now reports, there were some who were dissatisfied with the
agreement Valsa had reached. No one knows if any of these disgruntled elements are a
part of the conspiracy.
For civil society, Sr Valsa’s murder is part of another chain too. Three other social
activists have been killed this year after fighting on behalf of victims of human rights
violations and marginalized communities, or using India’s Right to Information
legislation to expose human rights violations and government corruption. In November
2011, Nadeem Sayed, a Gujarat-based activist, was stabbed to death after he testified on
behalf of the victims of the Naroda Patiya massacre case in which 95 persons had been
killed during the 2002 Gujarat anti-Muslim riots. In August, environmental activist
Shehla Masood, 35, was shot dead in Bhopal city in August after trying to expose
environmental violations of urban infrastructure projects and challenging mining plans in
Madhya Pradesh. In March, Jharkhand social activist Niyamat Ansari was abducted and
killed after he used the Right to Information legislation to expose local contractors and
officials who had embezzled funds earmarked for the rural poor. Suspicions centre
around armed Maoists because Ansari's exposes threatened their share of the embezzled
funds in return for protecting the corrupt contractors and officials.
India’s civil society has been demanding new legislation to protect activists who received
threats after filing petitions demanding crucial information affecting the livelihoods of
local communities.
10. For the Church and the Christian community, the brutal murder of Sr Valsa has to be also
seen in a different light. This certainly is not a question of persecution of a minority
community. Sr Valsa was in Dumka not as a proselyser, as some in the print and
electronic media make her seem, but as a human rights activist obeying her calling. But
the murder does have a critical mission dimension. After being battered into some sort of
submission to the will of the state during the seven year regime of the pro Hindutva
Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, and the last eight years of an
insipid United Progressive Alliance, the church is at the cusp, or the precipice, of a great
rethink.
The State has betrayed the Church on the issue of rights to Dalit Christians. It has given
no clear answer in the Supreme court which is hearing Writ petitions by various groups
on restoring the rights of Dalit Muslims and Christians which they enjoyed before the
passing of the 1950 Presidential Order. The State has also shown no signs of reversing
the notorious Freedom of Faith laws enacted by many Congress and BJP ruled States.
The government is also playing an insidious game in using the Right to Education Act to
“tame” the church institutions. These are signals as much as the central government’s
silence to the call of that great Hindutva leader, oncologist Dr Praveen Togadia of the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad who has called for the beheading of anyone who converts a
single Hindu. Any other person would have been in jail for saying less.
Will the church be cowed down before this building pressure. There are some murmurs
saying that the church must focus on faith and leave social action to others. A section of
the Church wants to focus on insinuation building. A small but influential section of the
church wants to stress its “nationalistic” credentials to cosy up to the right wing Hindutva
elements and evade their political wrath. But this is not the majority of the Church.
One is happy to note a strong spine in all denominations of the Church. The recent mass
movement, which the church supported in Tamil Nadu, is an indication of this. The
Bishop and priests who participated in the movement against an ill planned nuclear
power plant in Koodankulam where villagers of Idinthakarai staged relay hunger strikes
to protest against the Koodankulam nuclear plant whose safety has been called into
question. Right wing propagandists, politicians and a section of the media have joined
hands to demonize the Church. It is heartening to see the brave response of the people
and the religious who hold the public cause to be superior to their own well being. The
situation in Orissa, Chhatisgarh and several other states may demand the same fortitude
and courage from the church. The Nun working in a distant forest hamlet, or standing in
challenge to the conspiracy of mafia, police and the corporate sector, is proof that the
church actually practices its theoretical preferential commitment to the poor.
--
John Dayal
11. Annie Zaidi: Let's talk about justice
Daily News & Analysis - Nov 19, 2011
Sister Valsa John, a nun who had been organising tribal villages to protest displacement
due to coal mines, had begun to win small victories. She had successfully led agitations
in Pakur district, and negotiated a good rehabilitation and compensation ...
Nun's murder case cracked: Jharkhand Police
NewsX - Nov 20, 2011
Jharkhand Police sources have informed NewsX that they have cracked the murder case
of Sister Valsa John. Sister Valsa, a prominent whistleblower activist, was brutally killed
in Dumka last week. Two people have been arrested so far, and seven more ...
India nun Valsa John murder: police probing Maoist
role
BBC News - 7 hours ago
Sister Valsa John was killed after about 50 people broke into her home last week. Police
say that Maoist pamphlets were left at the crime scene. They said that rebels were finding
it hard to infiltrate the area where the nun had considerable influence. ...
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1111121/jsp/frontpage/story_14778195.jsp
Valsa murder a Maoist plot
- Thirty rebels involved, 7 villagers held RAJESH KUMAR PANDEY & SUMAN K.
SHRIVASTAVA
Amrapara/Ranchi, Nov. 20: A group of villagers, instigated by Maoists looking to
establish a role for themselves in Pachuara village’s dealings with a mining company set
up there, murdered Sister Valsa John as they perceived her to be an obstacle in their
designs, the police have concluded.
Seven of those villagers have been arrested, including Advin Murmu, who is also accused
of raping an associate of the Sister, said IG of Santhal Pargana Arun Oraon in Amrapara
police station today.
12. Oraon claimed that the police had in five days cracked the murder case that has rocked
Jharkhand, which is struggling to project a favourable industrial climate to woo big-ticket
investments.
Valsa was murdered at night on November 15 after Maoists, owing allegiance to area
commander Ramesh Soren, surrounded her rented home, while the villagers they had
instigated barged in and killed her using traditional work tools and weapons.
None of the Maoists have been arrested. But all the seven villagers held, including a close
associate of Valsa who would stand in at meetings with mining company Panem, were
presented before the media today.
The seven are: Advin Murmu, Pycil Hembrom, Prem Turi, Tala Marandi, Rakesh Turi,
Rajan Marandi, and Pradhan Murmu. All belong to Pachuara and adjoining Alubeda
villages.
“In the absence of Sister Valsa, Pycil Hembrom used to monitor the functioning of the
committee overseeing relief and rehabilitation of those affected by the Panem coal mine,
a cause the nun fought for over a decade. Pycil, along with some other local youths,
turned against Sister Valsa and were involved in masterminding protests against her,”
Oraon said.
The Maoist hand
“The murder was committed with the strategic support of Maoists active in the area, who
wanted to establish their hold on the Panem coal mine,” Oraon said.
The killer mob comprised 45 — 15 villagers and 30 Maoists. The Maoists surrounded the
rented house Valsa lived in, while the villagers barged in and killed her.
The IG said the Maoists systematically carried out a disinformation campaign against the
nun, till a section of village youths actually believed Valsa had been bought out by the
Panem management though she continued to work for the affected people.
The attempt by some local youths to sideline Valsa from the committee constituted to
ensure proper implementation of the resettlement and rehabilitation package also played a
decisive role in mobilising villagers against the nun. “She was considered a hurdle when
it came to misappropriating compensation money and other benefits being provided by
the Panem management to the land losers and other affected people,” Oraon said.
The trigger
“The rape of a close associate of Sister Valsa on November 7 was the immediate motive
for her murder as she had insisted on lodging an FIR against accused Advin Murmu,
contrary to attempts by a section of villagers to settle the matter at the panchayat level,”
the IG said.
13. Modus operandi
What took the police by surprise was the modus operandi adopted by the Maoists.
“It is apparent that the Maoists are not well organised in the area and so could not act
against the Sister directly. They provoked the villagers to take the lead. The incident is an
eye opener for us as far as tackling the Maoist menace is concerned,” Oraon said.
He added that the Maoists had adopted a similar strategy when they felled executive
director of Panem coal mine D. Saran and assistant mining manager Sheetal Prasad on
October 12, 2009. The two were gunned down while they were out on a morning walk.
“The police initially thought it was a professional hit. The Maoist link was established
when we arrested a Naxalite four months ago, who confessed that the rebels had hired
professional criminals to kill the duo,” the IG said.
He added that the Maoists were unable to gain a foothold in the area because of Valsa’s
clout, with the Sister ensuring that whatever benefits were being provided by the
management went to the villagers.
“In the absence of Valsa, Pycil Hembrom used to monitor the functioning of the
implementation committee, and he was involved in masterminding protests against her,”
the IG said.
Notably, Hembrom is the son of Pachuara village head Binej Hembrom, who was also the
president of the Rajmahal Pahar Bachao Andolan of which Valsa was a top functionary.
Last call
The IG said Sister Valsa’s last call from her cell phone was to one Sonia Dehri of
Pachuara village on the fateful night at 10:37pm.
The Sister spelt out the threat to her life as she realised that an armed mob had
surrounded the house, where she had been staying after moving out of Pycil Hembrom’s
house a few months ago when the rift between them surfaced.
“The call details are being traced. This apart, the arrested accused would be taken on
remand to establish whether there was someone behind the curtain masterminding the
killing,” the IG said.
Probe on
The IG said the probe was far from complete. “We have just managed to establish the
motive and the men behind the crime. The probe will not be complete till we get hold of
the last person involved,” he said.
14. Meanwhile, chief minister Arjun Munda today said the killers would be brought to justice
soon.
“The state government will ensure speedy investigation and trial,” he told The
Telegraph.
