Bishop Franco walks out of jail, to fly to Jalandhar

Catholic Bishop Franco Mulakkal, arrested on September 21 on charges of raping a nun, walked out of the Pala sub-jail near Kottayam on Tuesday, a day after he was given bail by the Kerala High Court.

"He came out around 2 p.m." said Mulakkal's close associate P.C. George, an independent MLA. "He will fly back to Jalandhar in Punjab from Kochin," said George.

"I escorted him to his car, as there were hundreds of people who came to express their support to the bishop," said George.

"There were hundreds of his supporters, including several nuns and his well-wishers who conducted a small prayer session outside the jail," said George.

The bishop secured the bail with strict conditions that he should not enter Kerala, must surrender his passport and should appear before the police once in every two weeks.

Mulakkal was arrested on September 21 after three days of questioning. On September 24, he was sent to two weeks of judicial custody.

Mulakkal, who heads the Roman Catholic Diocese in Jalandhar, is the first bishop in the country to be jailed for rape.

--IANS

sg/prs