Nun rape: Kerala SIT questions Jalandhar bishop for over 7 hours

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News service

Jalandhar/Kochi, September 19

Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun, was questioned for more than seven hours by the special investigation team of the Kerala Police in Thrippunithura near Kochi on Wednesday.

Bishop's lawyer Mandeep S Sachdev said the inquiry team has given him a written notice to appear again on Thursday.

The 54-year-old bishop was interrogated by SIT head K Subhash. Mulakkal had recently relinquished his administrative responsibilities as the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation.

Ernakulam range IG Vijay Sakhare reviewed the progress in the probe with Kottayam district police chief Hari Sankar and investigation officer Subhash, who is also deputy superintendent of police of Vaikom in Kottayam before commencing the interrogation Wednesday morning.  

Mulakkal had on Tuesday filed an anticipatory bail petition in the Kerala High Court claiming allegations against him were a "cooked up story to wreak vengeance".

The Kerala High Court adjourned the hearing of the application for September 25 when it will hear the police version.

Citing convention, legal experts said police may not arrest Mulakkal, who recently stepped aside as the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese, since his anticipatory bail plea is pending before the high court.

However, police can still arrest him if it has sufficient evidence, they said.

In his plea, the 54-year-old clergyman has claimed the accusations by the nun, serving in a congregation under the Jalandhar diocese, is "wholly concocted and cooked up only to wreak vengeance for the actions taken by him on various complaints received against her".

Claiming innocence, the bishop said the complaint was "nothing but a fictional story".

The plea alleged that the nun and her family members had warned Mulakkal of dire consequences if he continued to take adverse action against her. With inputs from PTI