Bishop Franco Mulakkal was on Friday arrested in Kochi after three consecutive days of interrogation by the state police.
Bishop Franco Mullakal, the clergyman accused by a nun of rape. (Photo: jalandhardiocese.com)
A magistrate court in Pala on Saturday sent former Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal, arrested in connection with the rape of a nun, to three-day police custody.
The court while sending Mulakkal to police custody till 24 September, also rejected his bail application.
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The police in its remand report on the case said that Franco Mulakkal came to the convent with the intention of sexually assaulting the victim.
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“On 5 May 2014, he illegally confined her in room no. 20 of the guest house at around 10:48 pm and subjected her to unnatural sexual assault,” the report said.
It further said that the accused threatened the victim of dire consequences if she ever revealed the incident.
“He raped her on the next day (6 May 2014) as well. Between 2014-2016, the victim was subjected to rape and unnatural sex for 13 times in the same room,” the remand report read.
Bishop Franco Mulakkal was on Friday arrested in Kochi after three consecutive days of interrogation by the state police.
Mulakkal has been accused of repeatedly sexually abusing the nun between 2014 and 2016.
The bishop, who belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese in Jalandhar, Punjab, was questioned for seven hours each on two days starting Wednesday near Kochi at a Crime Branch office.
This is the first time in the country that a bishop has been arrested for rape and the police have charged him for illegal confinement, rape, unnatural sex, and criminal intimidation.
The action came after a nun complained that she was raped several times between 2014-16. The crime had occurred at a convent in Kottayam district.
Nuns have been protesting in Kochi for the past 14 days demanding his arrest.
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