Father Franco Mulakkal is accused of raping a nun in Kerala between 2014 and 2016

A team of private security guards protecting the Bishop House in Jalandhar allegedly assaulted a group of journalists who had gathered outside yesterday. The journalists were camped outside the Bishop House as a team of Kerala Police was scheduled to visit the location to question Father Franco Mulakkal, who is accused of raping a nun in Kerala.

According to the journalists present, the security guards manhandled them when they were filming visuals of Father Mulakkal entering the Bishop House. In the ensuing scuffle, some cameras and other equipment were damaged, the journalists said.

The journalists who were allegedly assaulted were mostly from Kerala.

Mulakkal, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Jalandhar, allegedly raped a nun in Kerala several times over two years.

A statement submitted by the police in court, based on preliminary investigation, said that the bishop confined the nun to a guestroom at the St Francis Mission Home in Kuravilangad in Kerala's Kottayam between 2014 and 2016.

Kerala Police has said that it will take a call on arresting Mulakkal only after they interrogate him. Mulakkal has said he is innocent.

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