The Kerala Police on Friday registered a case against the bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar, Franko Mulakkal, after a nun lodged a complaint that she was sexually assaulted by him, The Indian Express reported.
The bishop, in turn, has lodged a complaint against the nun saying that she was blackmailing him and threatening to implicate him in a sexual harassment case.
Kottayam Superintendent of Police Hari Sanker said the case against the bishop was registered at Kuravilangadu police station based on the nun’s complaint. “The bishop has given a complaint against the nun, saying that she has threatened him,” Sanker said. “[The] Police have registered two cases based on the complaints.”
Sanker said the district deputy superintendent of police (intelligence) has been asked to probe the two cases.
In her complaint, the nun alleged that Mulakkal sexually abused her in 2014 in Kuravilangadu and raped her 13 times over the next two years, the Hindustan Times reported.
The nun said that she lodged a complaint with the church last year, but they failed to take action against the bishop. She alleged that she was removed from her official position and complaints of financial irregularities were levelled against her. The bishop, however, said he was implicated for transferring her.
This comes at a time when five priests of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church are facing sexual abuse allegations. The priests are accused of blackmailing and sexually abusing a woman for three years. Three of them belong to the Niranam diocese in Kerala, and another to the state’s Pandalam diocese. The fifth priest is from the Delhi diocese.
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