Kottayam/Kochi: Roman Catholic Bishop Franco Mulakkal, arrested for allegedly raping a nun, was on Monday remanded to judicial custody till October 6 by a local court at Pala.
Judge M Lekshmi of Pala Judicial Magisterial Court sent the bishop to the Pala sub-jail as the police did not seek his custody.
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court on Monday postponed the hearing on the bishop's bail plea to Thursday. While considering his plea, the court observed that anticipatory bail, which was already moved cannot be considered, as he is already under arrest. The bishop had alleged in his plea that he was arrested flouting rules. He also feared the police may fabricate evidence against him. He also said his health condition is not good.
The High Court also settled the petitions seeking CBI probe into the allegations of rape, saying the police should be allowed to conduct independent investigation.
In its remand report, police had said the nun was subjected to rape and unnatural sex by the accused at the guest house of St Francis Mission Home at Kuravilangadu 13 times between 2014 and 2016. The police took the clergyman, who was sent to two-day police custody on Saturday, to the guest house for reconstruction of the crime scene on Sunday. The victim and her fellow nuns staying in the home were not present there when Mulakkal was brought.
Official sources said police planned to move an application in the court, seeking permission to subject the bishop to a lie detector as he was still reluctant to make the confessional statement.
The Kerala High Court on Saturday had rejected the bail plea of the bishop and sent him to two-day police custody.
His lawyers had moved the application seeking relief, submitting that the clergyman was arrested after a three-day long interrogation by the probe team.
Opposing the plea, police had said his three-day custody was required to conduct his potency test and to recover the laptop, mobile phone and the dress used by the accused.
They said his body fluid and DNA samples were required to be collected as part of the probe.
Recording the submissions, the magistrate granted two-day custody of the bishop to police till 2.30 pm on Monday.
The Roman Catholic Bishop, who was arrested Friday night, was later taken to the Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam, on Saturday to perform these tests.
The police vehicle carrying the bishop reached the St Francis Mission Home at 10.20 am and left the place after completing the procedure at 11.10 am. After completing the procedure at Kuravilangadu convent, he was taken to the Kottayam Police Club.
In her complaint to the Kottayam police in June, the nun had alleged that Bishop Mulakkal raped her at a guest house in Kuravilangadu in May 2014 and later sexually exploited her on several occasions.
The nun had said she had to approach the police as church authorities did not act on her repeated complaints against the clergyman.
However, the bishop has denied the charges.
