The National Forum for People’s Rights (NFPR) has staged a dharna and prayer meet in Thiruvalla town on Thursday, expressing solidarity with the ongoing agitation by Catholic nuns, demanding arrest of Bishop Franco Mulakkal for allegedly raping a nun.
Inaugurating the satyagraha, NFPR national president Prakash P. Thomas alleged that the inordinate delay in arresting the accused bishop was nothing short of a challenge to the country’s law-and-order system.
“Denying justice to the nun, succumbing to the pressures of the powerful vested interests, was a blatant violation of human rights. This is not at all befitting a democratic State,” Mr. Thomas said.
Four nuns have been on an agitation, demanding the bishop’s arrest, in Kochi. The protest has found strong public support from the civil society.
Eminent personalities from different walks of life had come forward in support of the nuns’ agitation, he said.
NFPR State secretary B. Krishnakumar presided over the inaugural meeting.
