Thiruvananthapuram: Sexually exploiting a nun in a convent is as despicable as custodial torture, former vigilance director Jacob Thomas has commented, referring to the Jalandhar bishop rape case.
“Nuns virtually lead a life of penance obeying orders of their superiors. Attacking somebody who is lodged in a lock-up is the worst form of violence because the victim is totally helpless. Harassing a nun in a convent is no different,” said Jacob Thomas during a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.
He also felt that the government owes an explanation to the people on why Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulakkal is yet to be arrested. “An investigating team has no obligation to explain to the public why a person is arrested or not arrested. But the present case is different. Several nuns are staging an agitation seeking justice. They are posing a question to society. Their poser is addressed to me too,” said the ex-vigilance director.
Against this background, the government should explain why the bishop has not been arrested, he said.
Regarding the raw deal meted out to him by the government, Jacob Thomas alleged that Loknath Behera was appointed the DGP bypassing him, though he was senior to Behera. Replying to a reporter who pointed out that the first decision of the LDF government was to appoint Jacob Thomas as vigilance director, he said: “The first decision of this government was promoting B Sandhya as ADGP. The second decision was appointing Loknath Behera as DGP. The post should have been given to me, being senior to Behera. The third decision of the government was sidelining me.”
