KOCHI:
Kerala police on Wednesday summoned
Jalandhar
bishop
Franco Mulakkal
for a second round of interrogation on September 19 even as protests demanding action against him over allegations of rape by a nun gathered strength. The decision came a day after copies of a letter written by the nun to the Vatican demanding justice were made public.
Inspector general of police (Kochi range) Vijay Sakhare told reporters after a review meeting of the probe team that the bishop has been asked to appear before the investigating officer of the case. He said a decision would be taken on the bishop’s arrest only after ironing out certain contradictions in statements.
“There are contradictions in statements of almost everyone, including the complainant, accused and witnesses. We have identified these contradictions and decided on how to verify and iron them out,” he said.
The bishop is likely to be questioned at a high-tech interrogation facility at
Ettumanoor
,
Kottayam
.
The IG refuted allegations that the investigation was moving at a slow pace. “The investigation is happening on a daily basis. An affidavit will be submitted in court on Thursday detailing the progress in the probe,” he said.
Sakhare said the probe team was facing a few issues. “First of all, the incident leading to the case happened a long time ago. It is difficult to gather scientific and technical evidence on it and most evidence is in oral form. Also, there are several contradictions in statements. We won’t be able to file a strong chargesheet unless they are verified,” he said.
A police team had interrogated the bishop in Jalandhar in August. On his earlier submission in the
Kerala high court
that it had been revealed that Bishop Mulakkal had raped the nun on several occasions at St Francis Mission Home at Kuravilangad, DSP Subash said the report was filed before the bishop’s interrogation in Jalandhar, which brought more evidence to the fore.
The review meeting lasted for five hours at the camp office of the probe team here. Besides Sakhare, it was attended by Kottayam DSP Harisankar and
Vaikom
DSP K Subhash, who heads the probe team.
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