Ranchi (AsiaNews/UCAN) Around 25 armed men attacked a Catholic mission in the Indian state of Jharkhand this week. This is the third attack on the mission since July.
The bandits first attacked three watchmen and then entered the convent of the Notre Dame sisters at the Tillaiya mission in Giridhi district, stealing around 31,000 rupees (780 US dollars).
The mission had already been attacked in July and August, when the parish vicar was injured.
The mother superior of the convent, Sr Sarita Minj said that first the robbers threw stones and broke the convent's glass windows. At first the nuns did not realise what was going on, she said, "but soon it was clear, when the robbers shouted and asked us to open the door", threatening murder if they were obeyed. "We had no option but to follow their order," said the mother superior.
The kidnappers, continued Sr Minj, were men aged around 20 years and armed with pistols, bombs, iron rods and wooden sticks. "As the door opened, the robbers came to our rooms and asked where the cupboards were. They threatened to shoot us if we did not give them the keys," she continued.
In one cupboard, they found 30,000 rupees the nuns were keeping for teachers' salaries.
Before breaking in, the miscreants attacked the three watchmen, who had been placed there after the theft in July. One guard managed to escape and he raised the alarm in the village; the others, wounded, were admitted to the mission hospital.
The villagers immediately beat their dugdugi, a drum used to sound alarms, which can be heard up to 15km away. "Within a few minutes, hundreds of villages reached the convent, but by then the bandits had escaped. They fled after hearing the drum," said Raymond Besra, one of the wounded guards.
Superintendent of Police Bhageswar Jha promised to arrest the attackers soon. "We have already identified the robbers, and soon they will be behind bars," he said.
"We will have a meeting with the people, then we will decide what to do," Sister Minj said. "We are here to serve people. If we are troubled regularly, we will not able to continue. However, the nuns will not stop their work to help the poor because of a few bad elements."
