Bishop Mulakkal, an accused in rape case trying to buy silence of Nun in Rs 5 Crores

Kottayam, July 31: Bishop Mulakkal, an accused in a rape case is now trying to buy a silence of a 44-year-old Catholic nun from Kerala in Rs 5 crores.

 

This comes a month after a 44-year-old nun staying in a convent in Kerala's Kuruvilangad had made a police complaint claiming that Bishop Mulakkal had physically assaulted her. According to the complaint of nun, Franco Mulakkal, who is a Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar raped her at a guest house in Kuravilangad in May 2014 and later sexually exploited her 14 times.

Now, Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar Diocese trying to buy a silence of a 44-year-old Catholic nun who charged him of rape by paying her Rs 5 crores. An audio clip of the same has been released in public domain.

The audio clip revealed a Kerala priest mediating with the victim’s companion, who is also a nun, on the bishop's behalf. The priest could be heard trying to convince the nun to ask her friend to withdraw the police complaint against Bishop Mulakkal and also promising the victim property and a better 'posting' in the diocese in return. He further offered a sum of Rs 5 crore.

Prashant Patel Umrao, a Practicing Advocate in a tweet said, “Bishop Franco Mulakkal is trying to silence Kerala victim Nun with support of Church by offering her ₹ 5 crore & forcing her to withdraw case. She alledged of being raped 13 times.”

On June 28 this year, a 44-year-old nun who belongs to an institution that functions under the Jalandhar diocese lodged a complaint before the Kottayam district police chief Harisankar. According to the nun, she had earlier complained about the incident to the Church authorities but no action was taken. She accused Bishop Mulakkal for raping her and sexually exploitation.

Meanwhile, Bishop Mulakkal had also filed a complaint against the nun in Kottayam police station in front of SP alleging that she was blackmailing him after he initiated disciplinary action against her, including transferring her from the present institution. Importantly, the investigation is underway in both the complaints.