Police guard the entrance of a court in Kerala’s Kottayam district on Jan. 14 when it delivered its verdict on Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who was acquitted of all seven charges of raping a nun. (Photo: Thomas John )
A court in southern India’s Kerala state has acquitted Bishop Franco Mulakkal of all charges of raping a nun, saying the trial could not prove the allegations against him.
The nun, a member of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation under the patronage of the bishop, accused him of raping her more than 13 times between 2014 and 2016 inside her convent in Kerala’s Kottayam district.
District Additional Session Court Judge G. Gopakumar said the prosecution could not establish the police charges against the prelate, who was acquitted of all seven charges.
Police arrested Bishop Mulakkal in 2018. After seven months of investigations, police filed seven charges against him including rape, harassment, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation.
At the court on Jan. 14, police made elaborate arrangements to control the crowds. Besides barricades, a bomb squad and dog squad were pressed into service to clear the court before the verdict.
Bishop Mulakkal entered the courtroom through a back door to avoid the crowds and listen to the verdict.
The nun who accused the bishop was a former superior general of the diocesan congregation under Bishop Mulakkal of Jalandhar in the northern state of Punjab.
The nun claimed the bishop violated her during his visits to the congregation’s house in Palai, a town in Kottayam district of Kerala.
Support UCA News…
….As we enter the first months of 2022, we are asking readers like you to help us keep UCA News free.
For the last 40 years, UCA News has remained the most trusted and independent Catholic news and information service from Asia. Every week, we publish nearly 100 news reports, feature stories, commentaries, podcasts and video broadcasts that are exclusive and in-depth, and developed from a view of the world and the Church through informed Catholic eyes.
Our journalistic standards are as high as any in the quality press; our focus is particularly on a fast-growing part of the world – Asia – where, in some countries the Church is growing faster than pastoral resources can respond to – South Korea, Vietnam and India to name just three.
And UCA News has the advantage of having in its ranks local reporters who cover 23 countries in south, southeast, and east Asia. We report the stories of local people and their experiences in a way that Western news outlets simply don’t have the resources to reach. And we report on the emerging life of new Churches in old lands where being a Catholic can at times be very dangerous.
With dwindling support from funding partners in Europe and the USA, we need to call on the support of those who benefit from our work.
Click here to find out the ways you can support UCA News. You can make a difference for as little as US$5…
Credit: Source link