Bishop sent to Kerala jail, bail hearing on Thursday
Kottayam (Kerala), Sep 24: Bishop Franco Mulakkal, arrested on charges of raping a nun, was on Monday sentenced to two weeks judicial custody by a magisterial court while the Kerala High Court posted his bail plea for a Thursday hearing.
Judge M. Lekshmi of Pala Judicial Magisterial Court sent the bishop to the Pala sub-jail as the police did not seek his custody.
He was presented in the court after his two-day police custody ended on Monday.
Even as he was being produced before Judge Lekshmi, his counsel moved the Kerala High Court in Kochi seeking his bail.
When the High Court posted the matter for Thursday, the bishop was sent to the Pala sub-jail.
Mulakkal, who headed the Roman Catholic Diocese in Jalandhar, Punjab, became the first bishop in the country to be sent to jail on charges of raping a nun.
On Saturday, the magisterial court had rejected his bail and sent him to police custody. A medical check-up of the bishop was conducted at the Kottayam Police Club.
Mulakkal was arrested on September 21 after three days of questioning, he was accused by a nun of repeatedly raping her between 2014 and 2016.
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CM Siddaramaiah urges Centre to increase LPG supply
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has urged the Centre to immediately intervene to address a severe shortage of commercial LPG in Bengaluru, saying the crisis is forcing restaurants and related establishments to shut down and impacting a wide cross-section of the public dependent on the hospitality sector.
In a letter written to Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday and shared with the media on Thursday, Siddaramaiah highlighted a sharp mismatch between demand and supply, noting that only a fraction of the required cylinders is being made available.
“As against the demand of 50,000 LPG cylinders from restaurants, hotels, catering establishments and PG accommodations etc., we are able to supply only 1,000 cylinders per day,” the Chief Minister said.
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He added that the shortage has led to a visible increase in shutting down of establishments due to unavailability of commercial LPG, affecting students, IT professionals, farmers, dairy producers and others reliant on the hospitality ecosystem.
Referring to recent directions from the Ministry prioritising domestic LPG supply, Siddaramaiah said the State has taken steps to regulate allocation for essential segments in line with the Centre’s guidelines, but the situation remains critical.
The CM also flagged the absence of an integrated monitoring system for commercial LPG distribution, in contrast to the existing IT system for domestic gas supply, leading to gaps in transparency and oversight.
He further pointed out that Auto LPG, a key fuel for autorickshaws that provide last-mile connectivity in Bengaluru, is also facing similar issues due to the lack of a monitoring mechanism.
Noting that India is expected to receive two LPG tankers soon, Siddaramaiah sought the Union Minister’s intervention to ensure adequate allocation to Karnataka, particularly Bengaluru, considering its operational needs and dependency patterns.
“I request your kind intervention to ensure adequate allocation and availability of commercial LPG and Auto LPG to Karnataka, keeping in view the operational requirements and unique dependency patterns of the State, especially city of Bengaluru,” he said.
