Thiruvananthapuram:
A nun was found dead on Wednesday morning inside a water tank at the convent where she resided in Kerala, police said.
Sister Mary Ancy, 45, was found dead at the Holy Spiritual Centre, located near the famed tourist destination of Kovalam, they said.
The body was discovered by the inmates of the convent, where Ancy lived with eight other nuns.
Police suspect foul play because the slabs that covered the water tank were found displaced.
A preliminary autopsy report said that the victim was conscious at the time of the drowning. It ruled out sexual assault.
All the inmates of the convent and the priests attached to the church that runs the convent were tightlipped on the episode.
Ancy hailed from Kottayam and was living in the convent for the past two decades. She was a teacher at the school run by the convent.
After the incident, the body was moved to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College where the autopsy was conducted.
"A case of unnatural death has been registered and it is too premature to come to any conclusions as detailed investigations are going on," said Deputy Commissioner of Police S. Ramesh Babu.
Police sources said Ancy was suffering from allergy and was not getting proper sleep for the past four days due to the ailment.
This case comes at a time when the trial in the 1992 Sister Abhaya murder case is progressing after two Christian priests and a nun were named accused. Abhaya was found dead in her convent at Kottayam.