Jalandhar: Kerala priest Fr Kuriakose Kattuthara, who was found dead in his room under mysterious circumstances on Monday, was reportedly upset over the raging controversies surrounding the Jalandhar Diocese.
He had shared his concerns with his family members when Bishop Franco Mulakkal returned to the diocese headquarters after obtaining conditional bail in the case of alleged rape of a nun.
Fr Kuriakose, 62, returned to his residence after offering Sunday Mass and went to bed without eating dinner, his helper at the parish house told the police. Though he tried to knock him up, the priest did not open the door. He didn't come out of his room on Monday morning as well, but the helper did not bother to wake him up thinking that he was sleeping.
At the St Paul's Church at Dasuya in Hoshiarpur where he was posted, traditionally the Holy Mass is held on Monday evenings. Since Fr Kuriakose used to wake up very late if there was no morning mass to offer, a group of nuns who came to visit him waited for some time before knocking at the door. As there was no response, they peeped through the window and found him lying unconscious in the bed.
They alerted Fr Libin Kolencherry, who is attached to the another parish in the locality, and broke open the door. They rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
Relatives allege foul play
Jose Kattuthara, brother of Fr Kuriakose, alleged foul play in his death and suspected he was murdered. “The way they passed on the information to us regarding his death was suspicious. A priest phoned us and said: 'Fr. Kuriakose has passed away. We will give you more details later.' They did not tell us anything else. The move to conduct autopsy in a hurried manner before we could reach Jalandhar raises suspicion. These are clear indications of foul play,” said Jose.
According to him, it was Fr Kuriakose, who initiated setting up of a nunnery under the Jalandhar Diocese. “So, most of the nuns were close to him and they used to share their grievances with him. This did not go down well with some influential figures at the diocese. He had received several death threats from goons in the area. Recently, his house was pelted with stones and a car parked in the porch was damaged by miscreants. Actually, the vehicle was owned by another person,” Jose said.
Diocese denies charges
The Jalandhar Diocese authorities dismissed the conspiracy theories about Fr Kuriakose’s death. “We were good friends and there were no disagreements between us whatsoever,” said a senior priest.
The heads of the diocese will consult with the relatives of the deceased priest before finalising the formalities.
