A 44-year-old Catholic nun from Kerala has approached the state police, accusing a bishop of rape. This, after she alleged that her complaint to the church went unnoticed.

The nun who is now posted in Kottayam district of Kerala, has accused Bishop Franco Mullakkal of Jalandhar diocese of sexually abusing her since 2014. According to her complaint to the Kottayam SP which was filed on Friday, the bishop has sexually abused her multiple times.

Vaikkom DySP, who is currently investigating the case, told TNM that the bishop has been booked under Section 376 of theIPC (punishment for rape).

The police also said that the bishop has filed a complaint with the SP, alleging that the nun has raised allegations against him, as a means of taking revenge.

"The bishop first filed a complaint with us on June 23. The complaint said that the nun had raised sexual abuse allegations against him, after he removed her from an administrative position. Based on his complaint, we have filed a case under Section 295 A - deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting the religious beliefs," the DySP said.

Speaking to a television channel on Saturday, the nun said that she will pursue the case legally. She said that she would not speak more about the case and wait for the criminal case to take its due course.

The new case has come to light even as the Malankara Orthodox Church is mired in a similar controversy. The husband of a woman has accused five priests of various dioceses of sexually abusing his wife multiple times, after blackmailing her with her confessional secret. The Crime Branch is currently investigating the case.