Daijiworld Media Network - Indore
Indore, Nov 4: Sr Rani Maria, the Keralite nun who was stabbed to death in Madhya Pradesh 22 years ago was beatified by the Vatican in a ceremony in Indore on Saturday, November 4.
Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Cardinal Angelo Amato who arrived from the Vatican presided over the ceremony. He read the announcement from Pope Francis. After beatification, Sister Rani Maria was called as Blessed Sister Maria. ‘Blessed’ is a stage before sainthood.
Sr Selmy Paul with Samandar Singh near the tomb of Sr Rani Maria
Stabbed 54 times
Sr Rani Maria, a nun from Franciscan Clarist congregation was working with landless labourers in Madhya Pradesh. She conducted camps informing them about government subsidies and loans and in the process, which upset money lenders.
In December 1994, a clash broke out between the tribals and the villagers of Semlia Raimal in which in a moneylender was injured. Sr Maria helped some tribals, who were arrested following the clash, come out on bail.
The moneylenders hired Samandar Singh who stabbed Rani Maria 54 times on a bus from Udainagar to Indore on February 25, 1995. Singh absconded into the forest with his aides Jeevan and Dharmendra and was arrested three days later.
Killer is a changed man now
A day before the beatification, there was a visitor near Rani Maria’s memorial who was crying tears of repentance. It was Samandar Singh who had killed Rani by stabbing her 54 times with a knife.
Singh has completed his life-sentence. After committing the heinous crime, he was abandoned by the people who had hired him to kill Sr Rani. He lived with guilt. In 2002, Sr Rani’s sibling Sr Selmy Paul visited him on Raksha Bandhan and forgave him by tying him a ‘Rakhi’. She said that the family has pardoned him. This incident changed him completely.
Today, he has dedicated his life to social work and helps patients from underprivileged families. He earns his living by farming and is also imparting farming lessons to youngsters. He has visited Sr Rani’s family in Kerala four times after his release.
Whenever he gets time, he visits Sr Rani’s memorial and offers prayers. The memorial is built on the same spot, where Singh had killed her. It bears the words, “Lord, do not hold this sin against him.”