Kottayam: The Kuravilangadu police has registered a rape case against Franco Mulakkal, the Bishop of the Jalandhar diocese on the basis of complaint by a nun that he had subjected her to sexual assault. Earlier, the Bishop had filed a complaint with the police that the nun’s relatives had threatened him. The Kuravilangadu police has registered a case against the brother of the nun for allegedly threatening the Bishop.
The rape case has been registered against the Bishop on June 28, according to the office of the district police chief. It had received a complaint from the Bishop on June 21 and a case was registered on that day at Kuravilangadu police station. The nun alleged that church officials did not take action when she filed a complaint against the bishop.
District police chief Harisankar has ordered an investigation by Vaikom DySP into the complaint. Earlier, the bishop had filed a complaint that the nun and her relatives had threatened him and the Kuravilangadu police registered a case against the brother of the nun. The rape case was registered on Thursday, according to the office of the district police chief. The office received the bishop’s complaint on June 21 and a case was registered the same day at Kuravilangadu police station.
The nun alleged in her complaint that the bishop sexually abused her in May 2014 at Kuravilangadu when he came to attend a function and raped her 13 times over the next two years. The nun said that she had lodged a complaint with the Church last year, but they failed to take any action against the bishop. She alleged that she was removed from her official position and charges of financial irregularities were levelled against her.
The bishop, however, denied the allegation and said that he was framed for transferring her. The nun was working in an institution under the Jalandhar diocese where Mullakal was in charge. The bishop has also authored a book titled ‘A theological investigation into the moral teachings of Guru Nanak from a Catholic perspective.’
