Kerala cops summon Jalandhar Bishop amid public outrage

Kochi: The Kerala police on Wednesday summoned Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun following a meeting to review the progress made in the case.

The Roman Catholic Bishop has been asked to appear before the police on September 19, Inspector General of police Vijay Sakhare said.

"There are a lot contradictions in the case. This is an old case based primarily on oral evidence. We have verified a lot of contradictions. It's our duty to protect the victim and witnesses," Sakhare said.

Earlier on Wednesday, a meeting was chaired by Sakhare IG (Ernakulam range), which was also attended by Kottayam District Superintendent of Police Harisankar and Vaikom Deputy Superintendent of Police K Subhash as pressure mounted on the police to take action against Bishop Mulakkal.

On Tuesday, the Kerala nun had written to the Vatican seeking an urgent intervention and demanded the Bishop's removal as the head of the Jalandhar diocese.

The nun further questioned why the church was "closing its eyes to the truth" when she gathered courage to bring forth her sufferings to the public.

Read: Kerala nun abused by Jalandhar Bishop writes to Vatican seeking justice

A 46-year-old nun alleged that she was sexually assaulted 13 times from 2014 and 2016.

However, the Bishop has refuted the allegations and accused 'anti-church elements' of falsely implicating him.

Also Read: Falsely implicated by anti-church elements: Jalandhar Bishop refutes raping nun