The police team probing the alleged sexual abuse of a nun by Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the Catholic Diocese in Jalandhar has been directed to collect more evidence in the case before proceeding any further.
A directive on bringing clarity to a few more aspects was issued by Inspector General of Police Vijay Sakhare during a meeting to review the progress of the investigation here on Monday midnight. “There are still a few contradictions left that need to be clarified. The case pertains to an incident that took place a few years ago and ironing out these inconsistencies is crucial before initiating further actions,” he said.
He, however, did not rule out the possibility of summoning the bishop to Kerala for an interrogation. “Nothing is stopping us from subjecting the accused to interrogation and we will do it whenever required. For the time being, the focus is on collecting more evidences to help a systematic investigation,” the official added.
The meeting, held at the official residence of the IG, was attended by Hari Sankar, Superintendent of Police, Kottayam, and K. Subash, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Vaikom, who heads the investigation team. Earlier on Monday, the IG had briefed the State Police Chief on the investigation during a meeting in Thiruvananthapuram.
Interrogation
Last month, the police team subjected the bishop to marathon interrogation at the Bishop House in Jalandhar and seized one of his mobile phones, a laptop and the hard disc of his computer. The police have also recorded about 70 persons in this connection.
In response to a petition, the investigation team had earlier told the Kerala high Court that the probe so far revealed that Bishop Mulakkal had raped the nun on several occasions at the guest room of the St. Francis Mission Home at Kuruvilangad. A few days ago, the victim lodged a police complaint citing that she had been facing threats to her life and alleged that a person close to the bishop influenced one of her staff to damage her two-wheeler’s brakes, putting her life at risk.