Ranchi, Oct. 16: A district court today awarded life terms to 16 convicted in the sensational murder of Sister Valsa John in Pakur, almost four years after the 53-year-old nun, known for her uncompromising views against both the mining mafia and Maoists, was hacked to death by a mob on November 15, 2011.
Additional district sessions judge-I O.P. Shrivastava awarded life sentence to the 16 men whom he convicted on October 13 under Sections 302 (murder) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC.
This apart, they were found guilty under IPC Section 147 (rioting; two years RI); Section 148 (rioting with deadly weapon; three years RI); Section 460 (trespass, causing grievous hurt; 10 years RI); Section 458 (collective trespass, causing grievous hurt; 10 years RI); and Section 120 (criminal conspiracy; 10 years RI). All sentences will run concurrently.
But, crucial questions of whether the sentenced persons had received tacit support from the mining mafia to kill the Catholic nun, who had fought for compensation rights of land-losers, or Maoists, who saw her as a threat, were left unanswered today. Those sentenced were among the 45 people who had barged into the nun's rented hut in Pachuara village in Amrapara thana area of Pakur around 11pm on November 15, 2011, dragged her out and fatally attacked her with sharp weapons.
Prima facie, the murder of the educator-turned-rights activist, who originally hailed from Kerala and had lived a simple life in Pachuara for decades, was seen as a fallout for her mobilising villagers who had given their land for Panem Coal Mines coal block, but not received proper compensation.
Though Panem, a joint venture of the Punjab power board and Eastern Minerals and Trading Agency, had agreed on a compensation and rehab package in 2006, it was apparently not executed properly, for which Sister Valsa was continuing to mount pressure on the company.
Police had also said then that the murder had been committed with the strategic support of Maoists active in the area, who wanted to establish their hold on the Panem coal mine and thought Sister Valsa was a hurdle to their plans.
The sentenced men, Pycil Murmu, Edwin Murmu, Tala Marandi, Rakesh Turi, Prem Turi, Munshi Hembrom, Ranjan Marandi, Pradhan Murmu, two men named Babloo Murmu, Suresh Murmu, Raju Murmu, Jairam Marandi, Jitan Baski, Nazir Soren, and Saheb Madaia, are now lodged at Pakur divisional jail. They are likely to be transferred to Dumka Central Jail soon.
The unnamed 29 are still at large.
A week before her murder, a 20-year-old tribal girl who stayed with her had been raped by Edwin Murmu, who was among those sentenced today. The girl had managed to escape on the night of November 15, when the mob killed Sister Valsa.
