By Jose Kavi

New Delhi, Feb 26, 2023: A Catholic priest and three nuns were among six people who died February 26 in a road accident in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya.

A press note from Allen Brooks, the spokesperson of the Assam Christian Forum, says a truck carrying cement and going towards Guwahati jumped the road divider and rammed a car carrying the priest and the team coming from the opposite direction.

All six died on the spot at Sumer, 21 km north of the Meghalaya capital of Shillong.

The victims were identified as Father Mathew Das, parish priest and principal St. John’s H S School, Barama, and Fatima Sisters Milagrine Dantes, Promila Tirkey, and Rossie Nongrum, and teacher Mairan, besides the driver of the vehicle.

Barama is a town in Baksa district of neighboring Assam state and some 160 km northwest of Sumer.

The bodies have been taken to Nongpho Civil hospital for autopsy.

Meanwhile, Bishop Thomas Pulloppillil of Bongaigaon expressed his sadness at the tragic incident.

“With great sadness, I wish to inform that you that Fr. Mathew Das, parish priest of Barama parish along with three sisters of the Fatima convent in Barama and Baganpara and a teacher of Barama St. John’s HS School, and driver met with a fatal accident on the way to Shillong near Nongpoh in Meghalaya and died on the spot. Sister Melagrine Dantes, Promila Tirkey, Rossie Nongrum, Mairan (a teacher), and the driver are the deceased along with Fr. Mathew.”

The Assam Christian Forum has expressed its “deep pain at the tragic loss of innocent lives due to reckless driving.” It also extends its condolences to the bereaved families, including the diocese of Bongaigaon and the Fatima Sisters Congregation.

The forum has also asked the Meghalaya government for a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident.

Father Das was born on February 10, 1970 and was ordained a priest on November 20, 2005.

The Barama parish began as a mission in 1985 under the diocese of Tezpur. It manages St. John’s Higher Secondary School and a boys’ hostel.

The Fatima nuns manage a girls’ hostel, a vocational training center and a dispensary in the parish.