The Joint Christian Council organised a fast here on Saturday demanding the arrest of Franco Mulakkal, the head of the Jalandhar diocese of the Catholic Church, in connection with the alleged rape of a nun.
Five sisters supporting the 44-year-old nun attended the protest held near the Kerala High Court. They demanded the immediate arrest of the bishop. In her complaint filed before Kuravilangad police station in Kottayam, the nun had alleged that she has been raped and sexually exploited 14-times by the bishop since May 2014. The Bishop had denied the allegations claiming that he was innocent and the truth will come out in the police investigation.
Sister Anupama from the Missionaries of Jesus in Kottayam urged the police team investigating the case not to delay the arrest of the bishop. She hoped that the survivor will get justice soon. Stanley Paulose, general secretary of Joint Christian Council, alleged that efforts were on to evade the arrest of the bishop accused in the rape case. The government should not hesitate in ensuring justice to the survivor, he said.
The nun belongs to the Missionaries of Jesus, a congregation under the Jalandhar diocese. According to the police, the sister had complained that she was sexually exploited at the Church’s guest house facility at Kuravilangad. The bishop had earlier alleged that he was blackmailed by the relatives of the nun. She was working in Jalandhar and he had initiated disciplinary action against her. When he visited Kuravilangad recently, the nun’s relatives allegedly threatened him with blackmail and wanted the disciplinary action to be revoked, he had alleged.
The bishop has been charged with rape and unnatural sex based on the nun's complaint.
