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Sr Francesca admits 'guilt with great sorrow'

Rifat Jawaid in Calcutta

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.

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