A court in India’s Maharashtra state has granted bail to two Catholic nuns and a caretaker of a children’s home, a week after they were arrested for allegedly ill-treating minor girls under their care. “We are relieved that they are out on bail and hope the truth will come out,” Sister Rosaline Rodri-gues, president of the western region of the Conference of Religious India (CRI), told. Sisters Suchita Gaikwad and Alka Salunke of the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod, along with caretaker Anwelari Bhag-wandas, were arrested in the western state’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad) district. The police arrest was based on the complaint of nine girls, who escaped from the nuns-managed Vidyadeep (light of knowledge) Children’s Home.
They complained to the district welfare authorities about a lack of facilities and ill-treatment by the nuns and caretaker. District Court Judge M S Deshpande granted bail on the condition that each of them furnishes a personal bond of 50,000 rupees (approximately US$580) and separate local sureties of the same amount.
The July 14 bail order also stated that the accused must cooperate with the investigation, refrain from tampering with evidence or influencing witne-sses, and seek prior permission of the court before leaving its jurisdiction. It further asked them to report to the local police every Sunday until the police file the chargesheet in the case.
A member of the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod said this was a straightforward plot hatched to make use of the children to defame our sisters.
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