New Delhi (CNN) A Catholic bishop in India's southern state of Kerala was arrested Friday in the alleged rape of a nun, according to a police official.

Bishop Franco Mulakkal has been accused of raping a nun multiple times between 2014 and 2016 in a case that has drawn widespread attention in India, where it remains rare for members of the church to accuse senior clergy of wrongdoing publicly.

Vijay Sakhare, inspector general of police of Kochi Range, Kerala, confirmed the arrest.

CNN has reached out to Mulakkal's diocese for comment but has not received a reply. Representatives for Mulakkal told CNN last week the bishop is innocent.

"It is a fake allegation. We are all with the bishop," the Rev. Peter Kavumpuram, a spokesman for the diocese, told CNN. "There is an anti-Christian movement; people are trying to manipulate the truth."

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