A day after Father Kuriakose Kattuthara, a Catholic priest, was found dead at a church in Hoshiarpur’s Dasuya, his post-mortem was conducted on Tuesday. The entire process was videographed, the police said.
Father Kuriakose’s family members, including brother Jose Kurian and cousin Johnny Thomas who reached Dasuya, told reporters that if they were not satisfied with the post-mortem report, they would seek another post-mortem in Kerala.
Father Kuriakose had deposed before the Kerala police against Bishop Franco Mulakkal, the head of the Latin diocese of Jalandhar, accused of raping a nun.
The police said that to avoid any doubt it was decided that the post-mortem would be recorded on video camera. “The post-mortem has been conducted and the body handed over to Kattuhara’s family. The proceedings were recorded on video camera so that there’s no reason for any apprehension left. A four members board of doctors conducted the post-mortem,” A.R. Sharma Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dasuya, told The Hindu . He said that the report is likely to be out with a day or two. “Any further investigation will depend on the report of post-mortem. As of now it looks like a natural death,” he said, adding that the viscera has been sent to the government laboratory to find out the cause of death.
Bishop Franco Mulakkal was arrested on September 21 in the rape case registered by the Kuravilangad police in Kottayam district. He was granted bail by the Kerala High Court on October 15 on stringent conditions.
The nun had alleged that she was raped by the bishop from May 5, 2014 to May 6, 2016 on 14 occasions in a room attached to the St. Francis Mission Home, Kuruvilangad.
