Kottayam: Roman Catholic Bishop Franco Mulakkal, out on bail after being accused of rape by a nun, on Saturday evaded a query regarding the death of a priest, a key witness in the case.

Mulakkal appeared before investigation officer, Vaikom DySP K Subhash, as part of the ongoping probe into the case.

Asked about Fr Kuriakose Kattuthara being found dead in Jalandhar, the bishop replied he did not wish to comment. He arrived at the DySP's office at 10.30 am and left by 10.50 am.

Fr Kuriakose Kattuthara, who had testified against Mulakkal, had been found dead under mysterious circumstances in Dasuya near Jalandhar in northern Punjab recently.

The post-mortem was held at Jalandhar and body brought to Kerala Wednesday. The funeral was held the next day.

Father Kattuthara's mysterious death comes days after Mulakkal, who was arrested and is now out on bail, reached Jalandhar from Kerala.

Mulakkal, who was granted conditional bail on October 15, had received a rousing welcome from his followers and supporters when he returned to Jalandhar.

In her complaint to the Kottayam Police in June, the rape victim alleged that Mulakkal raped her at a guest house in Kuravilangad in May 2014 and later sexually exploited her on several occasions.

However, Mulakkal denied the charges as "baseless and concocted".