Kerala Police fail to take Bishop's statement in sex abuse case
New Delhi, Aug 4: A Kerala Police team -- probing the case relating to a Catholic Bishop accused of sexually abusing a nun -- arrived here on Saturday to record the statement of the Vatican representative, but they failed to as they had not taken prior permission for it.
The team is now expected to travel to Punjab in the coming days where they will meet the accused, Franco Mulakkal, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar.
According to the probe team, they will return on Monday to the Vatican Embassy as they have now applied for permission.
The six-member team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police A.T. Subhash, in their first stop in Delhi, was to take statement on Saturday from a city-based couple who raised a complaint against the nun.
The team met them, but they told the police that their complaint against the nun was based on a misunderstanding and now they have no complaints against her.
According to the police team, they will now meet the Ujjain Bishop of the Catholic dioceses, as the nun had informed this Bishop about the way she was subjected to abuse.
The nun alleged in June that Mulakkal sexually abused her several times at a convent in Kuruvalangadu near Kottayam between 2014 and 2016.
An FIR was registered against the bishop and a 114-page detailed statement was taken from the nun and other inmates of the convent.
Mulakkal, however, denies any wrongdoing.
Statements were also taken from the head of the Syro-Malabar Church Cardinal Mar George Alencherry and a few other former nuns who were residents at the convent.
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345 Indian fishermen stranded in Iran return home via Armenia
New Delhi (PTI): A group of 345 Indian fishermen, who were stranded in Iran amid escalating regional tensions, returned to India via Armenia on Saturday, officials said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar thanked his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for assistance in return of the Indian nationals.
The Indian nationals arrived in Chennai this evening, the officials cited above said.
The circumstances that led to them being stranded in Iran were not immediately known.
"Thank FM @AraratMirzoyan and the Government of Armenia for facilitating the evacuation of Indian fishermen today from Iran, through Armenia to India," Jaishankar said on social media.
Over 1,500 Indian nationals have left Iran through land border crossings in Armenia and Azerbaijan since the start of the West Asia conflict over a month ago.
"A group of Indian fishermen, stranded in Iran, are returning home via Armenia today; their flight is expected to reach India this evening," a government statement said.
It said the Ministry of External Affairs continues to closely monitor the evolving situation in the West Asian region, with the safety, security and welfare of the Indian community being accorded the highest priority.
It also made a mention of five Indians being injured in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
According to Abu Dhabi authorities, the Indian nationals were among the 12 people injured by debris from an intercepted missile.
"In an attack in Abu Dhabi, five Indian nationals were injured; four have been discharged, one remains under treatment," the Indian government's statement said.
It said the Indian mission in Abu Dhabi is extending "full" assistance and coordinating with local authorities, adding that their flight is expected to reach India this evening.
