Alappuzha: The death of Fr Kuriakose Kattuthara, who had given a statement against former Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal, was a case of murder, Jose Kattuthara, brother of the late priest, has claimed.

“The body of Fr Kuriakose should be brought to Kerala and a post-mortem conducted here. A complaint has been submitted to the district police chief of Alappuzha stating these facts,” Jose said.

He said that the Alappuzha police chief had replied that the complaint would be forwarded to the police authorities in Jalandhar as the incident had taken place there and the case was also registered in Punjab.

Jose added that a memorandum will be submitted to the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking his intervention in the matter.

“We have no trust in the Jalandhar police. The commissioner there acts as the right-hand man of Bishop Franco,” said Jose.

According to him, it was another priest in Jalandhar who had informed him about Fr Kuriakose’s death around 10.30 am on Monday. “The priest tersely told me, ‘Fr Kuriakose is dead. We will inform you the details later’.”

“But now there are moves to conduct the post-mortem before Fr Kuriakose’s relatives reach Jalandhar. There is something fishy in all this. In fact, something terrible has happened,” said the priest’s brother.

Fr Kuriakose has been facing pressure ever since he gave a statement against Bishop Franco. “He even told us that he may not live long,” said Jose.

“Among the senior priests in Jalandhar, Fr Kuriakose had served under the previous Bishop also. Earlier, it was he who accompanied the nuns to Jalandhar. So, it was to him that they told their complaints. Fr Kuriakose was seen as an enemy by many people due to this,” Jose explained.

“My brother has been facing threats over the last two-three years. There were even attacks on his house. A car belonging to another person was damaged by some miscreants believing that it belonged to Fr Kuriakose,” revealed Jose.

He accused Bishop Franco of instigating people against Fr Kuriakose. “My brother shifted residences fearing their attacks. Now, the news of his demise was also not conveyed in the proper manner. You cannot inform a person of his brother’s death in this manner,” rued Jose.

He alleged that the entire Church had sided with the bishop. “The Church is hoodwinking the believers that it is on their side,” said the aggrieved sibling.

District police chief’s version

S Surendran, the district police chief of Alappuzha, said that the complaint submitted by Jose had been forwarded to the Jalandhar police commissioner and the police station there by e-mail. “This is because the death of Fr Kuriakose took place in Jalandhar and no case exists here over the matter. So we cannot take any action here,” said the district police chief.