Rape accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal tests positive for COVID-19

Chandigarh, July 14

Former Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun in Kerala, has tested positive for coronavirus, a Health Department official said on Tuesday.

A Kottayam court in Kerala had on Monday cancelled Mulakkal’s bail for his failure to appear for the trial in the rape case and issued a non-bailable warrant against him.

“He (Mulakkal) has tested positive for coronavirus,” said COVID-19 nodal officer for Jalandhar, T P Singh.

Mulakkal’s report, confirming him to be positive for COVID-19, came on Monday evening, he added.

The rape case against the Bishop was registered by Kottayam district police in Kerala.

In her complaint to the police in June 2018, the nun had alleged that she was subjected to sexual abuse by the Bishop between 2014 and 2016.

The bishop, who was arrested by the Special Investigation Team which probed the case, has been charged with wrongful confinement, rape, unnatural sex and criminal intimidation. — PTI