Congregation booked after it releases Kerala nun’s photo

KOTTAYAM/KOCHI: Kerala police on Friday registered a complaint against the Missionaries of Jesus hours after the congregation, flouting the country’s anti-rape law, released a photograph of the nun with the bishop she has accused of rape.

The congregation put out the photograph in a release issued to the media to publish the findings of its enquiry commission, which looked into the nun’s allegations.

It claimed that the May 23, 2015 photograph was taken a day after the first incident of alleged rape. “The fact that the nun was sitting in the company of the bishop (Franco Mulaakkal)was enough proof that she had not been sexually assaulted the previous day,” it claimed.

As per the law, revealing the identity of the victim who had filed a case under Section 376 (rape) is a punishable offence.

The case was registered by the Kuravilangadu police station in Kottayam district on the complaint filed by the alleged victim’s brother, officials said. The convent is located within the Kuravilangadu police station limits.

The nun’s brother approached deputy superintendent of police K Subhash with the complaint, they said. Sources said police will now record the nun’s statement.

In the press release, the congregation accused the victim, her five fellow nuns and four others of conspiring against the bishop. It alleged that the nuns had “violated the discipline of the congregation” several times and even refused to renew their vows — a

very important step in the life of a nun in a convent.

The enquiry commission said the congregation was convinced that the nuns were under the influence of “atheists”.

It claimed that the visitors’ register, a key evidence for establishing bishop’s presence in the convent where the victim nun lived, was handled by a nun close to her and they might have tampered with it. It also accused the victim and fellow nuns of forcibly shifting to their room the control system of the CCTV cameras “to destroy evidence”.

State agriculture minister V S Sunil Kumar has called the congregation’s move “clearly illegal”. Speaking to a TV news channel, he assured police action against those responsible.