Nun case:Jalandhar diocese assures nuns protesting against Mulakal that they will not be transferred
Kottayam, Feb 9: Days after nuns protesting against rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal were asked to move out of their convent, the Jalandhar Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church has assured them that there will be no move to oust them as long as they as they are needed for the court case.
An e-mail in this regard was sent to five nuns, who are staying with the rape survivor nun, by current apostolic administrator of Jalandhar diocese Bishop Angelo, one of the nuns said here Saturday.
The Bishop has assured the nuns that "there will be no move from the diocese of Jalandhar to oust" them from the Kuravilangad convent in Kottayam district as long as they are needed for the court case, she claimed.
Copies of purported e-mail sent by the Bishop was made available to the media.
Earlier, the head of their congregation, Missionaries of Jesus under the Jalandhar diocese, had issued transfer orders to four nuns who took part in the protest demanding the arrest of the bishop.
Another nun, Sister Neena Rose, who is staying with the rape survivor, was asked to report to the Missionaries of Jesus congregation's Jalandhar convent and meet its Superior General Sr Regina Kannam Thottu on January 26.
The congregation of nuns Missionaries of Jesus had directed the nuns to join their previously-assigned convents, according to the transfer orders issued between March and May last year.
The nuns Alphy, Anupama, Josephine and Ancitta were served notice by the superior general, urging them to take up their assigned responsibilities as befitting members of the congregation.
Meanwhile, Peter Kavumpuram, PRO of the Jalandhar diocese, issued a clarification statement late in the evening, saying even though the congregation of Missionaries of Jesus is of diocesan right, the internal running of the congregation is left to the Superior General and her council.
"The Bishop of Jalandhar does not normally interfere unless the overall interests of the church demands such interference. By this clarification the Apostolic Administrator has not interfered in the internal affairs of this congregation, therefore the order to return to their rightful communities by the Mother General is not cancelled but stands," said the statement quoting Fr Kavumpuram.
The statement, however, did not have mention of the purported email sent to the nuns by Bishop Angelo.
The four nuns had earlier written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking his intervention to ensure that their transfer orders were not affected till the trial of the case was over.
The survivor nun had also written a separate letter to the chief minister, seeking his help in the matter.
"Their aim is to single me out and to harass and torture me. My life will be in danger if such a situation arises," she said in her letter.
In her letter to Rose, the superior general had warned that failure to comply with the advice to report in person as instructed would be construed as a deliberate refusal to abide by the legitimate order of her Mother General, thereby challenging the authority canonically bestowed on her.
Meanwhile, the nuns Saturday joined 'Save Our Sisters' forum to stage a protest against the transfer orders issued by the congregation. A tense situation prevailed at the protest site when a group of people opposing the nuns' protest reached there and raised slogans against them.
The group was removed from the spot, police sources said.
The protest led by the nuns and the Catholic reformist forums in Kochi in September last year had led to a public outrage and demands for action against the bishop.
Bishop Mulakkal, a senior member of the Roman Catholic clergy in India, was arrested last year following allegations by a nun that he repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted her at the Kuravilangad convent between 2014 and 2016, a charge denied by him.
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Hospital wall collapse: CM orders suspension of executive engineer; kin of victims get solatium
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday ordered the immediate suspension of an executive engineer for the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital wall collapse that claimed the lives of seven people, during a high-level review meeting at Vidhana Soudha.
A compensation of Rs 5 lakh, as announced by the CM Siddaramaiah, was distributed to the families of seven victims who lost their lives in the tragedy on Wednesday evening, which occurred due to heavy downpour with gusty winds and hailstorm.
The meeting of municipal commissioners of the five corporations, chaired by the chief minister and attended by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, focused on fixing accountability and examining lapses that led to the tragedy.
"Why was soil dumped in a way that damaged the wall? Why did you not monitor this?" Siddaramaiah asked, pulling up hospital authorities during the meeting.
A statement from the chief minister's office said that the CM ordered the immediate suspension of the executive engineer of the Karnataka Health Systems Development Project (KHSDP).
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He also questioned the hospital authorities, asking why they failed to monitor the dumping of soil that weakened the structure.
The chief minister directed that a notice be issued to the head of the Hospital.
During the meeting, Siddaramaiah said the rains had caused extensive damage in the city, with over 250 trees uprooted.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to take necessary measures before the onset of the monsoon to avoid untoward incidents.
Commissioners of all five municipal zones in Bengaluru have been asked to take precautionary steps, including trimming dry and dangerous tree branches, the CMO said.
Siddaramaiah also directed them to get the silt cleared from stormwater drains to prevent flooding, and that immediate action be taken to remove debris and fallen branches from roads.
Further, he instructed that barricades be placed at underpasses where water stagnates and restricts public movement.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao said in a statement that Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad distributed compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased on Thursday.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed amid heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
Police said the victims, comprising three from Bengaluru, two from Kerala on a study tour and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Assam, had taken shelter near the wall when it suddenly gave way, trapping them under the debris.
The chief minister questioned officials over the dumping of soil near the wall despite knowing it could weaken the structure, and directed that a notice be issued to the head of Bowring Hospital.
Siddaramaiah, who had visited the spot soon after the incident along with senior officials, reviewed the situation and ordered a detailed probe into the collapse.
