Alappuzha: A priest of the Jalandhar diocese, who had recorded a statement against Bishop Franco Mulakkal accusing him of raping a nun several times, has been found dead in Jalandhar under mysterious circumstances. Relatives of Fr Kuriakose Kattuthara have received information that he was found dead at his residence on the premises of St Paul's convent school at Dasuya in Hoshiarpur district on Monday morning.
His brother Johny Kattuthara said he suspected foul play in the incident and demanded a probe into it. "One of our relatives from Jalandhar informed me about the death around 10am on Monday," Johny told Manorama Online.
The priest had helped the nun who levelled rape allegations against the bishop. The priest, who took a strong stand against the bishop, had also given statement to the police against him.
After the priest recorded the statements, his house and vehicle were damaged by protesters, relatives alleged.
The priest had also alleged that the bishop had tried to scuttle the case. Fr Katthuthara, who was also a vocational trainer of the nuns, had even said several nuns had approached him with complaints against the bishop. He had further told the media that nuns were scared of speaking against the bishop.
Case against bishop
In her complaint to the Kottayam Police in June, the nun had alleged that Bishop Mulakkal raped her at a guest house in May 2014 and later sexually exploited her on several occasions.
The nun said in her complaint that she had to approach the police as the church authorities did not act on her repeated complaints. Mulakkal, however, had denied the charges.