Rape accused bishop arrives in Jalandhar, supporters shower rose petals on him
Chandigarh, Oct 17: Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who faces allegations of raping a nun, received a rousing welcome from his supporters when he reached Jalandhar after being released on bail by a Kerala court.
Mulakkal smiled as followers showered rose petals on him. Till a few weeks ago, he held charge as the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese.
The bishop, who was escorted by Punjab police personnel, did not talk to the media.
He was granted conditional bail by the Kerala High Court on Monday, and released from a jail near Kottayam a day later. He was arrested on September 21 after being accused of repeatedly raping and sexually abusing a nun between 2014 and 2016.
As the demands for his arrest grew, the Vatican temporarily relieved him of all pastoral responsibilities as the bishop of the Jalandhar Diocese of the Missionaries of Jesus.
While granting bail, the court had directed him to surrender his passport and not to enter home state Kerala except for appearing before the probe officer once in two weeks.
In her complaint to the Kottayam Police in June, the nun had alleged that Bishop Mulakkal raped her at a guest house in May 2014 and later sexually exploited her on several occasions.
The nun said in her complaint that she had to approach the police as the church authorities did not act on her repeated complaints.
Mulakkal, however, has denied the charges as "baseless and concocted," insisting she levelled them as the Catholic order had rejected her demands for favours.
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Iran warns of ‘uncontrollable consequences’ after energy site strike
Qatar warns residents of ‘Elavated’ threat
Tehran/Doha: Iran’s President Massoud Pezeshkian has warned that attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure could lead to “uncontrollable consequences” affecting the entire world.
In a post on X, Pezeshkian said he “strongly condemns” the strikes that targeted the South Pars gasfield earlier in the day.
“Such aggressive actions will not achieve anything for the American Zionist enemy and their supporters. Rather, they will complicate the situation and could lead to uncontrollable consequences that will affect the entire world,” he said.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior has urged residents to remain indoors due to what it described as an elevated security threat.
Authorities have not provided further details, but the advisory comes amid growing concerns over the safety of energy infrastructure and civilian areas in the region.
