Catholic Church in Kerala is upset over the move by the CPI(M)-led Government to challenge the Kottayam Sessions Court Judge acquitting Franco Mulakkal, the Bishop of Jalandhar Diocese, of all charges in a sexual abuse case.
Judge G Gopakumar had acquitted the Bishop of all charges levelled against him by a nun belonging to the Missionaries of Jesus Convent. The nun in her complaint had alleged that the Bishop had raped and molested her for years and her pleas to the Church authorities including the Vatican were ignored which forced her to approach the police and judiciary. The Bishop was arrested by the Kerala Police and was incarcerated for months in a jail when he came to Kerala as per the summons issued by the Police for interrogation. The three-year long legal battle saw nuns including the victim sitting in fast in front of a public place in Ernakulam and social activists joining them.
The Bishop who was released on bail stayed put in Kerala and cooperated with the trial which facilitated the pronouncement of the verdict. The judge said in his order that though the victim and prosecution witnesses were given enough time to produce evidence, they failed to do so. The communications exchanged between the Bishop and the nun after the so-called abuses and molestations do not make any references to the alleged incidents. “In fact, the communications in the form of mails prove that the victim always had high regards for the bishop,” the judge said in his order.
Harishankar, former SP of Kottayam district who was the investigation officer, said he was shocked by the acquittal of the judge as there were sufficient proofs against him. “But that was an attempt by the police to escape from the charges of fabricating a case against an innocent person,” said Majeesh Kochumalayil, leader of Kerala Youth Front, an outfit belonging to the Catholic Church.
Majeesh pointed out that the CPI(M)-led Government did not file any appeal against the Kerala High Court order acquitting Thadiyantavide Nazeer, whom the NIA Special Court had slapped with imprisonment for his role in the double blast case at Kozhikode. “There is a concerted effort on the part of the Marxists to keep the Church and its priests/spiritual leaders under the needle of suspicion,” said Kevin Peter, president, Christian Alliance for Social Action (CASA). He pointed to the cases foisted against Cardinal Mar Alencherry, head of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam based on fake allegations.
Interestingly, the allegations against Bishop Franco Mullackal became louder after his pro-active stance against drug trafficking in Punjab. The Bishop had alerted the Punjab Government officials about high volume drug trafficking in the State from across the western border. His 28 years service had made him a popular figure in Punjab which was visible when a team of police officials from Kerala went to Jullundur to arrest him. Thousands of people belonging to different communities formed a human fortress around his residence to prevent the police from entering the premises forcing the cops to make a quick retreat.
“We were worried over the presence of hundreds of Islamic fundamentalists in the demonstrations staged against the Bishop in Kerala. It is clear that the Bishop was being hunted by extremists with roots in Pakistan,” said Jaison Mazhuvancherry, a community leader in Pulluvazhi.
Community members with whom Indus Scrolls spoke to were upset over the discrimination shown against the Christians, particularly the Catholics, by the CPI(M) and Islamist outfits. Many of them pointed out the incident of Islamists chopping off the hand of Prof T J Joseph for writing a critical article against the Islamic extremists.
It is worthwhile to note that news portal run by a Malayali Urban Naxalite which too was spreading fake news about the Bishop is under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate, Intelligence Bureau and Narcotics Control Bureau for its role in money laundering and drug trafficking. The investigation agencies have gathered evidence against the proprietor for her liaison with various Islamic outfits, her main sources of income.
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