Ain’t no Sunshine

Sunshine Orphanage authorities threaten MNC employee and ex-inmate who wants to pen memoirs of his life there, which includes an account of the nightmarish torture that he and several others faced

Ain't no Sunshine

A man who grew up in an orphanage and wants to pen memoirs of his horrifying experience, is facing threats from the orphanage authorities.

Ashish Ralph Peter, a 26-year-old accent trainer in an MNC, has filed a complaint with the Banasawadi police station seeking protection from administrators of Sunshine orphanage.

Ashish said that the threats to his life started soon after he distributed raw copies of his book titled Seeds of Terror, Fruits of Peace.

"I wanted to distribute a few copies of my yet to be published book to get some feedback. A copy reached the orphanage officials somehow and they started calling me to take out page no. 87 from the book if I want to live peacefully," said Ashish.

Horror story

Recalling his horrifying experiences as an inmate in the orphanage, Ashish said that the administrator used to torture the inmates and subject them to physical punishments.

In 1999, fed up of such treatment, some of the inmates including Ashish had approached a newspaper and managed to get their story published.

"I was 16-years-old at that time, and the administration including Raja Fernandez, his wife Beulah Fernandez and the clerk Ravidas torturedu00a0 us severely for talking to the press," Ashish recalls.

According to Ashish, they were taken to various places including Hyderabad and Chennai and detained illegally to stop them from testifying before the authorities that had come for inspection.

They were not only beaten up and tortured but also threatened that they would be thrown out of the orphanage and be made to beg on the streets.

"I still remember how they used to beat me after tying my hands and legs. I am independent now and my friends from the orphanage, who have suffered the same torture, are helping me bring out this incident before the public, Ashish said. Since all the inmates are orphans, they have no other option but to be silent. Ashish said he decided to take up the issue now as the torture continues even till today.

Keep quiet

In his complaint to the police, Ashish said after details of his book emerged, Ravidas not only directly threatened him, but also sent messages through his friends.

"I decided to meet Beulah Fernandez in this regard to discuss about the threat, and she told me to remove page no. 87 from my book, assuring me that that she wont harm me. She actually said, 'remove the page from the book, then you need not be scared, because I will not kill you, although I don't care if anyone kills you'," said Ashish.

When MiD DAY contacted Beulah Fernandez, she said that she has made no such threat. "It's all a fabrication," she added.

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