Police thoroughly probing sexual abuse case of Kerala nun

A special police team probing the allegation levelled by a Catholic nun that she was repeatedly sexually abused by a bishop is investigating the case thoroughly before they question the high-ranking church official, said informed sources.

The nun alleged that Franco Mulakkal, the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar (Punjab), sexually abused her 14 times between 2014 and 2016.

The bishop has denied the allegations, saying that he was being framed for taking action against her. According to Mulakkal, trouble started in 2016 when he took up a complaint against her.

The special team has already taken a detailed statement of the nun and a few of the inmates of the convent near here, where the nun is now staying and on Tuesday, forensic experts arrived to see what scientific evidence are required in the high-profile case which involves a high-ranking bishop of the powerful Roman Catholic Church.

According to the police probe team which completed the first round of evidence collection on Tuesday, it will now sit down to decide the time and nature of questioning the bishop.

--IANS

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