Kerala Nun rape case: Kottayam Court extends Bishop Franco Mulakkal's bail
Kottayam Court extended the bail of the Kerala nun rape case accused Franco Mulakkal on Saturday. Mulakkal, rape-accused and former bishop of Jalandhar, had appeared before the court in Kerala's Kottayam for the beginning of the procedures ahead of the start of a trial in the case. The court has adjourned the case till January 6, 2020.
Before appearing at the court, Franco Mulakkal offered prayers at Antony's Church in Kottayam.
He has allegedly confined a nun to a convent in Kuravilangad and raped her several times for over a period of two years. The matter came into light in 2017, when the victim nun with the Missionaries of Jesus filed a complaint to Kottayam police and accused the then bishop of Jalandhar of raping her repeatedly between 2014 and 2016.
A special investigative team (SIT) was formed under the leadership of the Kottayam deputy superintendent of police (DSP) to probe the allegations. Later, Mulakkal was arrested by the SIT on the basis of circumstantial evidence. He spent over two months at the Pala sub-jail before a court granted him conditional bail in October 2018.
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