The former Jalandhar Bishop, who was arrested on September 21 last year in Kochi after three consecutive days of interrogation by the state police, is currently out on bail.
People stage a protest against Bishop Franco Mulakkal. (File Photo: IANS)
Almost seven months after arrest, the Special Investigating Team of Kerala Police on Tuesday filed a chargesheet at the Pala magistrate court in Kottayam against Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun.
The former Jalandhar Bishop who was arrested on September 21 last year in Kochi after three consecutive days of interrogation by the state police, is currently out on bail.
He has been accused of repeatedly sexually abusing the nun between 2014 and 2016.
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The Bishop’s arrest came after a nun complained that she was raped multiple times between 2014-16. The crime had occurred at a convent in Kottayam district.
The police in its remand report to a trial court had stated that Franco Mulakkal came to the convent with the intention of sexually assaulting the victim.
Four nuns had rallied behind the complainant calling for a speedy filing of the chargesheet.
Last month, the protesting nuns submitted a petition at Kottayam SP’s office seeking speedy filing of the chargesheet.
The demand for the speedy filing of chargesheet came just over a month after the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was urged to ensure their safety by the National Commission for Women (NCW).
The four nuns from the Kuravilangad convent who demanded the arrest of rape accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal had in January written to Vijayan requesting him to intervene in the matter.
The nuns from the Kuravilangad convent, who demanded Mulakkal’s arrest, were transferred to four different places vide a transfer order issued on 16 January.
It was only after pressure mounted that the transfer order was revoked.
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