Kerala nun rape case: Bishop Franco Mulakkal sent to police custody till September 24, bail plea dismissed

New Delhi: Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who has been arrested for allegedly raping a nun repeatedly over a period of two years, has been sent to police custody till September 24 and his bail application has been dismissed, ANI reported. Mulakkal was produced before a magistrate court earlier in the day.

According to ANI, apart from filing a bail petition, Mulakkal’s lawyer also put forward a condition that Mulakkal’s blood samples & saliva should not be taken without his permission citing that it can be misused.

He was admitted to a government hospital following complaints of pain in his chest while being taken to Kottayam Police club from the Crime Branch office in Thrippunithura in Ernakulam district Friday night, PTI reported. He was discharged from the city hospital this morning.

He was kept under observation in the cardiology section of the Medical College Hospital for over six hours after his blood pressure shot up. ECG and other cardiac-related tests were also performed, PTI reported. His condition is said to be normal at present.

Mulakkal, who holds a doctorate in moral theology, is the first Indian Catholic bishop to be arrested in a rape case.

After three days of interrogation, Mulakkal was arrested Friday night. Police sources said while Mulakkal, during interrogation, stuck to his claim that he did not rape the nun, he was arrested following contradictions in his statements, circumstantial evidence, statements of witnesses, and the nun’s statement under Section 164 of the CrPC.

In June, a nun had complained that Mulakkal had raped her 13 times at the mission house in Kottayam district, over a period of two years from May 5, 2014. She had said she had to approach the police as the church authorities did not act even after repeated complaints. While the police registered a case in Kottayam on June 28, the probe against him dragged on for nearly three months.

According to sources, Mulakkal denied that he went to the mission house on May 5, 2014, the day on which he allegedly raped the nun for the first time. However, sources said, police have a statement from the driver who reportedly drove him there that evening. While Mulakkal reportedly claimed that he went to another convent that day, the superior of that convent is learnt to have denied this. The visitors’ register at the mission house also shows that Mulakkal was there on the days mentioned by the nun, said sources.

For all the latest Technology News, download Kashmir Age App | Tameel Irshad App