Jalandhar police on Saturday served a notice to Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who is accused of allegedly raping a nun, to appear before Kerala police on September 19.
"Jalandhar Bishop Franco has been served notice to appear for interrogation on September 19. A criminal case has been registered against Missionaries of Jesus for publishing a letter as well as a photo of the victim nun," Kottayam Superintendent of Police Harishankar told ANI.
A case has been registered against Missionaries of Jesus under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 228A (disclosure of the identity of the victim of certain offenses including rape) for publishing a letter as well as a photo of the victim nun.
Meanwhile, brother of the victim condemned the letter published by Missionaries of Jesus against his sister.
Speaking to ANI, he said, "Yesterday Missionaries of Jesus published a letter as well as a photo of the victim. I condemn that. It's very shameful, people of a congregation like that don't know Court's order. It is very sad that they want to harass my sister in such a way."
Missionaries of Jesus, a Church in Jalandhar published a photograph of the victim nun along with Bishop Mulakkal in its press release on Friday morning. The photograph dating back to May 2015 was of a private function where the victim nun and the accused Bishop can be seen sitting alongside among a group of people.
In the press statement, it also alleged cordial relation between the victim and the accused, by claiming that they travelled together for over 20 times between 2014-16. The statement claimed, "Any woman, who was raped by a man, would never attend functions or travel with the offender. For every rape victim, meeting the offender after the incident is like dying. How the nun and the bishop could travel together over 20 times between 2014-16? This is a truth that cannot be denied."
Sharing details of the nun's accommodation, Missionaries of Jesus also claimed that the victim had shifted next to the room where she alleges to have been raped by the Bishop. "No rape victim will want to see the place where she was raped," the statement added.
The nun from Kerala has accused the 54-year-old Bishop of raping her on several occasions between 2014 and 2016.
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