Nun rape: Bishop sent to 2-day police custody
Kottayam (Kerala), Sep 22: Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who has been arrested for raping a nun, was on Saturday refused bail by a Kerala court and sent to two-day's police custody.
The bishop would be kept at the Kottayam Police Club till Monday, when he would be again produced at a court in Pala, near here, a police officer said.
Mulakkal, who headed the Roman Catholic Diocese in Jalandhar, Punjab, was arrested on Friday in Tripunithura after three days of questioning in a sexual abuse case filed by a nun who accused him of repeatedly raping her between 2014 to 2016.
The bishop's counsel told the court that his client's blood sample and saliva were forcefully taken.
The police said that Mulakkal would be taken to the convent near here, where he is alleged to have raped the nun. He would also have to undergo a potency test.
Police had a tough time on Saturday controlling the crowd as people jeered at Mulakkal, who became the first bishop in the country to be arrested for rape.
Mulakkal was to be produced in court on Friday following his arrest. However, after he developed chest pains on the way to Kottayam from Tripunithura, he was admitted in the Kottayam Medical College hospital, where he stayed overnight.
He was discharged early on Saturday and produced in the court in the afternoon.
One of the five nuns who took to the streets in Kochi in an indefinite protest demanding the bishop's arrest, on Saturday told the media: "This protest would not have taken place, had our church authorities taken our complaints seriously."
"We never did this for our benefit, instead we wanted to ensure that there would never be another bishop like Mulakkal who would turn a tormentor," the nun added. The protest were called off on Saturday.
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Allahabad HC expresses dissatisfaction over probe in 2009 custodial death case
Prayagraj (PTI): The Allahabad High Court has expressed dissatisfaction over the investigation and state's evidence in a 2009 custodial death case in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh.
A bench of justices Atul Sreedharan and Siddhartha Nandan warned that if relevant videography and photographs are not placed before the court, the only option left to it will be to take assistance of CBI to recover the vital evidence.
The order was passed while hearing a PIL filed by Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives.
The court, in its order dated April 7, noted that crucial facts including video and photo evidence of the incident are missing.
The court observed, "In the event, by the next date of hearing, the videography and photographs relevant in this case are not placed before this court, the only other option left to this court is to take assistance of the central bureau of investigation (CBI) to recover vital evidence in this case which shall be considered on the next date of hearing."
"The chain of evidence is unclear casting doubt on the fairness of the investigation," the court added.
The court also directed the then sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Karmendra Singh of Mainpuri to file his affidavit strictly in terms of the order dated February 9, failing which, it said, it shall consider to take appropriate action against him.
The court asked Singh to give a precise answer on the fate of the videography recording which was done in his presence.
The court fixed May 5 as the next date of hearing in the matter.
