Samandar Singh at the memorial for Sr Rani Maria. Photo: J. SureshNachanbor (Madhya Pradesh): On Friday, there was a visitor at the memorial of Sr Rani Maria which stood glimmered in tranquil white splendor.
He lit a candle and prayed with clasped hands in front of the structure located in a remote forest area near Indore: “Deedi, ho sakti to maaf karna” (Sister, forgive me if you can).
It was at the same spot the visitor, Samandar Singh, stabbed Sr Maria to death twenty-five years ago. He stabbed her 54 times and one of the stabs penetrated deep into the ribs and pierced through her heart, killing her on the spot.
As the Church prepares to declare her ‘Blessed’ - the penultimate stage in the four-phased canonization procedure - at a ceremony in Indore on Friday, Samandar, who could wash the sin-stained robes of his soul through confessions and put the cruel past behind him, is grateful for his new life. “Everything that happens is God's will. Not a leaf falls without His knowledge,” he says with a palpable sense of calm.
The gift of love he received in return of his hateful act has made him wise and prudent. Repentance wiped away his sins and there was such serenity in his face.
After committing the heinous crime, Samandar left the scene in his blood-splattered clothes and disappeared into the thick jungle, to be caught after three days. Neither did his family member nor did the landlords who hired him to kill the nun come to his rescue.
As he was languishing in the jail after being sentenced to life-term imprisonment, Swami Sadanand, a Carmelite Father working among prisoners in Madhya Pradesh, came to meet him. It was the father who convinced Samandar that Sr Rani Maria’s family and the Church had forgiven him. After a few months, the father brought Sr Selmi Paul, youngster sister of the nun, along with him to meet Samandar. She forgave her sister’s assassin and tied a rakhi, which symbolizes brother-sister love, on his wrist.
During his jail term, Samandar’s wife left him. Apparently, he chose to remain single for life. Now he is living with his brothers in a village called Semlia Raimal.
After being released on completion of his term, Samandar visited Kerala four times and met Sister Rani Maria’s parents Paily and Eliswa at their home in Pulluvazhy near Perumbavoor. He could not believe when the family of the person whom he brutally murdered pardoned him and embraced him as a member of their family.
Samandar now ekes out a living by growing paddy, groundnut and onion on his two-acre land. After coming out of the jail, he took up social work by caring for patients from the underprivileged sections. Of late, he has also started to impart lessons in farming to youngsters in the locality.
Whenever he gets time, he would visit the Sr Rani Maria Memorial and offer prayers. He would also light a candle in front of the slab on which these words are engraved: “Lord, do not hold this sin against him.”
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