A Catholic nun has been found dead at the bottom of a well at her convent in the southern Indian state of Kerala, police say.
Sister Liza Maria, 42, a schoolteacher, was found by other nuns on Dec. 1 at the Sacred Heart Convent in Uppuni, in Idukki district, local police inspector Manoj Kumar said.
Other nuns remember seeing her at evening prayers the night before and went looking for her after she failed to appear for morning prayers. They later found her in the well, he said.
Plastic netting which was supposed to cover the well was partially removed, he said.
“We have registered a case of unnatural death.”
Police said it was too early to say if the nun’s death was suicide but the evidence suggested that she did take her own life.
“Our preliminary investigations have ruled out any foul play but they do indicate suicide. We will have to wait for a forensics report,” the inspector said.
Convent officials were not available for comment.
Father Jimmy Poochakkatt, spokesperson of the Syro-Malabar Church to which the nun belonged, said the nun had been "receiving treatment for depression for some time."
