Sister Angeline Nirmala Reena, 26, became a nun in 2004 and devoted her life to the Roman Catholic Church. She lived on the campus of St John De Britto Church for the last four months.

While having breakfast one morning she told the other nuns she had consumed pesticides and she passed out. She was rushed to a private hospital where she was given first aid then transferred to another hospital for further treatment. She died there.

Sister Angeline's relatives refused to accept her body and blocked the ambulance in which the body was being transported by church authorities to the cemetery. The family demanded action against the church and nuns for Angeline's death. They also demanded the Bishop attend in person to provide an explanation.

The deceased's mother and brother said Angeline was tortured by a nun and when she complained the authorities did nothing.

Police have registered a case and say they are interrogating some nuns and the church authorities and expect to discover the reason for the suicide.

[ Back to Top ]

In Mumbai the Gujarati and Jain communities generously contribute to an increasing pool of eye, skin and organ transplant donations. In 2012 over 85% of 2500 odd eye donations came from the two communities and skin donation contributions stood at 95%

It is seen mostly as a "religion backed ideology that perceives donation as an ultimate form of charity. Donating eyes has become like a custom, with more families willingly choosing to donate.

Of the Gujaratis those from Kutch are the leading donors. They are recipients of a daily community bulletin Kutchi Khabar Patrika, that reaches over 40,000 families and thanks donor families as well as informing and encouraging others to donate organs.

In Mumbai Ghatkopar remains the biggest donor pocket. Now more communities are encouraged to participate as there is a long waiting list and people have to wait for almost 6 months to a year for corneal transplants. The need of the hour is to get more donations from the young.

[ Back to Top ]

Award winning Indian writer Laxman Mane, 63, has disappeared after five women who worked as cooks at a charity school he founded filed complaints accusing him of rape repeated assaults on school premises in a western Maharashtra state.

The women all aged between 30 and 35 claimed Mane raped them on the school premises as well as at a government guesthouse. A clerk at the school has been accused of abetting.

Mane, who writes in the Marathi language was awarded the Padma Shri for his contribution to vernacular literature in 2009. His autobiography titled 'Upara' won the Sahitya Akademi award in 1981.

Police authorities say they have dispatched police teams to track him down, while his family has dismissed the charges as baseless and a conspiracy.

[ Back to Top ]

Sumit Patil, 27, completed a 601-km-long bicycle ride in a little over a day, with just 20 minutes of sleep, making him the third Indian to qualify for the Race Across America (RAAM), the toughest race in the history of cycling.

His qualification for RAAM will last for 3 years, and he will need nearly Rs.30 lakhs to participate, but Patil says he is confident about his performance for the 2014 RAAM.

Samim Rizvi of Bangalore is the first Indian to qualify for RAAM in 2010. The race expects one to cover nearly 5000 kms in 12 days, which includes toilet and sleep breaks.

[ Back to Top ]

Rajasthan astrologer and social activist Pandit Purushotam Gaur has used the religious practice of offering water and milk in temples into a method of water conservation. He developed a water harvesting infrastructure in more than 300 temples over the past 13 years. Earlier the millions of gallons of water literally went down the drain.

Gaur started channeling the water from temples through several filter chambers before it drained into the ground and recharged the ground water level. As part of the project and with the help of the people he constructed several tanks and bore wells. A number of scientists and groundwater experts joined forces with him.

Gaur has received several awards for his services to astrology and social activism. He now wants to extend his water harvesting projects to other parts of India.

[ Back to Top ]