Kochi: One among the five nuns of Missionaries of Jesus congregation weeps during a speech at Vanchi Square near high court junction (File Photo) | Photo Credit: BCCL

Thiruvananthapuram: Three months following the arrest of former Bishop of Jalandhar, Franco Mulakkal, five nuns with the Missionaries of Jesus Congregation have threatened to take to the streets in protest if a chargesheet is not filed in this regard. Mulakkal was accused of holding a nun hostage and raping her at a convent in Kerala's Kuravilangad.

Speaking to media personnel, the nuns said that the Kerala government is yet to appoint a public prosecutor in this regard and the Kottayam police are yet to file a chargesheet in the case. Sister Anupama who led the protest told Hindustan Times that the sisters fear a "deliberate attempt" to weaken the nun's case.

Sisters with the Missionaries of Jesus staged a demonstration in Kochi seeking the immediate arrest of Bishop Mulakkal. A special investigation team (SIT) led by the DSP of Kottayam had arrested the bishop in September on the basis of evidence gathered with respect to the nun's allegations. However, Mulakkal was granted bail after spending three weeks in judicial custody at the Pala sub-jail in Kerala.

In fact, the convent sent a letter to the police claiming that they did not have the funds to grant the complainant nun and her five fellow-nuns protection. The convent also asked the police whether the nuns can be shifted to a government-run home for the elderly. The case became even murkier than it already was after father Kuriakose Kattuthara, a key witness in the case was found dead under mysterious circumstances last year.

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