Kerala police arrest bishop accused of raping nun

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Police sources said while Mulakkal stuck to his stand that he did not rape the nun, he was arrested following contradictions in his statements, circumstantial evidence, statements of witnesses, and the nun’s statement under Section 164 of the CrPC.

After three days of interrogation, Bishop Franco Mulakkal (54), who has been accused of repeatedly raping a nun, was arrested on Friday evening. Mulakkal, who holds a doctorate in moral theology, is the first Indian Catholic bishop to be arrested in a rape case. He will be produced before a court in Kottayam district on Saturday.

“With reasonable suspicion, the investigating officer has been convinced about the charges framed against the bishop. The probe has revealed that the bishop has committed the crime and the allegations raised against him by the nun are reasonably true,’’ said Kottayam SP Hari Sankar.in

Police sources said while Mulakkal stuck to his stand that he did not rape the nun, he was arrested following contradictions in his statements, circumstantial evidence, statements of witnesses, and the nun’s statement under Section 164 of the CrPC.

In June, a nun had complained that Mulakkal had raped her 13 times at the mission house in Kottayam district, over a period of two years from May 5, 2014. While the police registered a case in Kottayam on June 28, the probe against him dragged on for nearly three months.

Mulakkal, who was relieved of his pastoral duties as the Jalandhar bishop on Thursday, was questioned by the Kerala police in Jalandhar last month. On Wednesday, he was summoned to Kerala for interrogation.

According to sources, Mulakkal denied that he went to the mission house on May 5, 2014, when he first allegedly raped the nun. However, sources said, police have a statement from the driver who reportedly drove him there that evening. While Mulakkal reportedly claimed that he went to another convent after dinner that day, the superior of that convent is learnt to have denied this. The visitors’ register at the mission house also shows that Mulakkal was there on the days mentioned by the nun, said sources.

There were alleged attempts to get the nun to withdraw the complaint. Earlier, police arrested a senior priest, James Earthayil, who reportedly promised 10 acres of land to the nun if she withdrew the complaint. The nun filed a police complaint against Mulakkal after his public relations officer, Fr Peter Kavumpuram, filed a complaint against her brother alleging that he had threatened to kill the bishop.

The investigation against Mulakkal gained momentum after five nuns, under the banner of Save Our Sisters Action Council, launched a protest against him in Kochi on September 8.

“The bishops and the Church authorities should shed their criminal silence on the issue. Our agitation was not against the person, but against his wrong deeds and attitude. The bishop tried to trap our sister (who accused him of rape) in fabricated cases and threatened her with dire consequences if she complained against the abuse,’’ said Sister Anupama, one of the protesting nuns.

“There should not be another Franco in the Church. This incident should lead to reformation of the Church,’’ she said.

Before he was appointed as the Jalandhar bishop in 2013, Mulakkal served as the auxiliary bishop of Delhi from 2009. A resident of Thrissur, he was ordained as a priest for the Jalandhar diocese in April 1990.

Related News

Missionaries of Jesus PRO will be called to give explanation

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KOTTAYAM: The police have started investigation about revealing the photograph of the nun who lodged a complaint against bishop Franco Mulackal and also spreading a not disgracing the nun. The investigation team will seek an explanation from Missionaries of Jesus PRO sister M J Amala and they have decided to issue a summons notice to her.  A case has been registered against Missionaries of Jesus as directed by the district police chief Harishankar. Advocate Jiyaas Jamalin had lodged a complaint regarding this issue to the city police commissioner.

Missionaries of Jesus had revealed the photograph of the nun on Friday. It was published along with the commission report on the investigation. They included the photograph in the last page of the report which showed the nun along with the bishop participating in a ceremony. The report also states that the nuns have conspired against the bishop. Missionaries of Jesus had appointed the commission to investigate the case only the previous day. They published the report immediately. Sources close to nuns say that this is for purposefully disgracing the nun.

“Ain't you ashamed to ask such questions?” asks Mohanlal

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Mohanlal asked whether the reporter has any shame when a reporter tried to get his response about the complaint lodged by the nun against Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulackal.

“Do you have shame to ask such unnecessary questions? When such a huge problem (flood) has occurred is it (protest of nuns) the general emotion of people? Don’t you have anything else to say? Does it have any connection with the floods?”, asked Mohanlal.

He had reached the collection centre in Kochi to provide help from ‘Viswasanthi’ foundation named after his parents.

Conflicts solved, bishop to be arrested immediately

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The investigation team said that crucial evidences have been found to arrest Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulackal in the complaint given by the nun. Earlier, there were conflicts in the statements of the nun and witnesses. However, this was solved during investigation. Three of the 81 statements recorded from the witnesses can be used to prove that the bishop has committed the crime. Therefore, the investigation team hints that the arrest of Jalandhar bishop is essential when he arrives before the investigation team for interrogation on September 19. The nun had alleged that she was sexually abused when the bishop arrived at the convent in Kuruvilangad in Thrissur. Bishop claimed that he was not present at Kuruvilangad during this time. However, it was found that he had visited the convent on May 5, 2014 when the investigation team checked the visitors’ register. No evidence has been found to support his claim that he was at Muthalakkulam convent during this time. Meanwhile, the investigation team has obtained another crucial information from Franco’s driver. The driver said that he had reached Kuruvilangad convent on May 5, 2014 from Thrissur with Jalandhar bishop. He also said that they had stayed in the convent with the bishop. Meantime, the nun has given explanation to the suspicion that she had not mentioned about the sexual abuse in the complaint lodged to cardinal. She said that several people were with her while she typed the complaint and therefore she excluded the details about the sexual abuse as she feared that they will become aware of this. With this there is no more conflict in the nun’s statement. Meantime, the nuns who are protesting responded that they are happy to hear that the bishop may be arrested soon. They are protesting for the last eight days seeking bishop’s arrest at Ernakulam.

Happy in the verdict, CBI probe needed: Nambi Narayanan

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nambi Narayanan responded that he is happy in the Supreme Court verdict which granted 50 lakh compensation to him in the ISRO spy case. “I am happy that I got justice even though it was delayed. I tried to bring the conspiracy behind the case into light. A CBI probe is more appropriate than a judicial one as declared by Supreme Court. There should be a clarity about setting time limit for the judicial probe. I will respond in detail after receiving a copy of the court order”, he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.  

Nambi Narayanan had alleged that there is conspiracy of several international agencies in this case. He demanded a CBI inquest because of the involvement of several international agencies. Sources close to him have hinted that he is preparing for a judicial fight.

Petrol Prices Of 100 Countries Around The World. Check Out Where India Stands

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Petrol Prices Of 100 Countries Around The Petrol Prices Of 100 Countries Around The World. Check Out Where India Stands
In different countries, the prices of commodities differ and the same is the case with petrol as well. In some countries, the prices keep rising, but in some countries, petrol is cheaper than water.

Trends and prices keep changing from time to time; you may be surprised that there are actually some places wherein the price of petrol is as less as a rupee per litre.

Well, Venezuala is one such country, wherein you have to shell out just Rs 0.58/litre of petrol (In INR); isn’t that way too cheap?
On the contrary, there are some European countries, wherein a litre of petrol costs over 2 dollars. Although the prices are different, price movements remain the same.

Today, we are here with the list of petrol prices across 100 countries (Prices are as per the date 21st May 2018).

The data has been gathered from a variety of official sources including online resources and government materials. Don’t you want to check where India stands in this list?

Prices (Per litre) of petrol in different countries!
Country Name Price (in Indian rupees)
Venezuela 0.58
Sudan 23.24
Kuwait 23.64
Iran 24.49
Algeria 24.59
Egypt 25.07
Ecuador 26.60
Nigeria 28.53
Syria 29.73
Bahrain 36.05
Kazakhstan 36.45
Uzbekistan 36.52
Saudi Arabia 37.00
Qatar 37.37
Malaysia 37.72
Oman 39.23
Iraq 42.97
UAE 43.90
Burma 44.05
Indonesia 44.66
Ethiopia 46.40
Afghanistan 46.54
Belarus 46.75
Russia 48.98
Tunisia 49.80
Pakistan 51.64
Colombia 54.08
Bhutan 57.02
USA 57.56
Lebanon 62.51
Namibia 62.85
Vietnam 63.27
Sri Lanka 63.77
Georgia 64.25
Fiji 67.98
Taiwan 68.50
Nepal 68.74
Mexico 69.10
Ghana 69.46
Paraguay 70.13
Bangladesh 71.69
Philippines 72.29
Kenya 73.68
Cambodia 73.98
Australia 74.29
Mauritania 76.75
Ukraine 76.79
Argentina 77.60
South Africa 79.68
Costa Rica 79.72
Thailand 79.79
Brazil 80.10
India 80.22
China 80.90
Morocco 81.19
Canada 81.68
Senegal 83.84
Madagascar 84.00
Bahamas 85.73
Cuba 86.15
Jamaica 86.86
Bulgaria 87.26
Chile 88.63
Japan 89.31
Turkey 91.95
Poland 94.36
Zimbabwe 94.57
Yemen 95.01
Romania 98.47
Hungary 99.27
South Korea 100.56
Jordan 100.68
Czech Rep 100.75
Serbia 101.57
Austria 101.59
Mauritius 102.85
Cyprus 103.76
Spain 106.16
Slovakia 109.77
Uruguay 110.06
New Zealand 110.90
Switzerland 110.98
Singapore 111.62
Ireland 114.58
Germany 115.46
UK 116.34
Belgium 118.83
Finland 124.44
France 125.25
Sweden 126.47
Portugal 126.53
Israel 127.43
Italy 128.77
Greece 130.70
Monaco 131.74
Denmark 131.99
Netherlands 133.50
Norway 139.85
Hong Kong 144.23
Iceland 144.52
Source: Global Petrol Prices
Sadly, the petrol prices iH n India are very high i.e. Rs 80.22/litre. Do you think fuel prices would ever drop here?. Check Out Where India Stands
In different countries, the prices of commodities differ and the same is the case with petrol as well. In some countries, the prices keep rising, but in some countries, petrol is cheaper than water.

Trends and prices keep changing from time to time; you may be surprised that there are actually some places wherein the price of petrol is as less as a rupee per litre.

Well, Venezuala is one such country, wherein you have to shell out just Rs 0.58/litre of petrol (In INR); isn’t that way too cheap?
On the contrary, there are some European countries, wherein a litre of petrol costs over 2 dollars. Although the prices are different, price movements remain the same.

Today, we are here with the list of petrol prices across 100 countries (Prices are as per the date 21st May 2018).

The data has been gathered from a variety of official sources including online resources and government materials. Don’t you want to check where India stands in this list?

Prices (Per litre) of petrol in different countries!
Country Name Price (in Indian rupees)
Venezuela 0.58
Sudan 23.24
Kuwait 23.64
Iran 24.49
Algeria 24.59
Egypt 25.07
Ecuador 26.60
Nigeria 28.53
Syria 29.73
Bahrain 36.05
Kazakhstan 36.45
Uzbekistan 36.52
Saudi Arabia 37.00
Qatar 37.37
Malaysia 37.72
Oman 39.23
Iraq 42.97
UAE 43.90
Burma 44.05
Indonesia 44.66
Ethiopia 46.40
Afghanistan 46.54
Belarus 46.75
Russia 48.98
Tunisia 49.80
Pakistan 51.64
Colombia 54.08
Bhutan 57.02
USA 57.56
Lebanon 62.51
Namibia 62.85
Vietnam 63.27
Sri Lanka 63.77
Georgia 64.25
Fiji 67.98
Taiwan 68.50
Nepal 68.74
Mexico 69.10
Ghana 69.46
Paraguay 70.13
Bangladesh 71.69
Philippines 72.29
Kenya 73.68
Cambodia 73.98
Australia 74.29
Mauritania 76.75
Ukraine 76.79
Argentina 77.60
South Africa 79.68
Costa Rica 79.72
Thailand 79.79
Brazil 80.10
India 80.22
China 80.90
Morocco 81.19
Canada 81.68
Senegal 83.84
Madagascar 84.00
Bahamas 85.73
Cuba 86.15
Jamaica 86.86
Bulgaria 87.26
Chile 88.63
Japan 89.31
Turkey 91.95
Poland 94.36
Zimbabwe 94.57
Yemen 95.01
Romania 98.47
Hungary 99.27
South Korea 100.56
Jordan 100.68
Czech Rep 100.75
Serbia 101.57
Austria 101.59
Mauritius 102.85
Cyprus 103.76
Spain 106.16
Slovakia 109.77
Uruguay 110.06
New Zealand 110.90
Switzerland 110.98
Singapore 111.62
Ireland 114.58
Germany 115.46
UK 116.34
Belgium 118.83
Finland 124.44
France 125.25
Sweden 126.47
Portugal 126.53
Israel 127.43
Italy 128.77
Greece 130.70
Monaco 131.74
Denmark 131.99
Netherlands 133.50
Norway 139.85
Hong Kong 144.23
Iceland 144.52
Source: Global Petrol Prices
Sadly, the petrol prices in India are very high i.e. Rs 80.22/litre. Do you think fuel prices would ever drop here?

Do not promote charlatanism and ignore precious human lives

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Do not promote charlatanism and ignore precious human lives
(Statement from Doctors engaged in Flood Relief Public Health Activities in Kerala)

(You can endorse this statement by sharing it)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an appeal to Medha Patkar, Aruna Roy and others who have come out in support of Mr Jacob Vadakkanchery who has been legally proceeded against by the Kerala Government after repeated requests from socially conscious public health activists..

Jacob Vadakkanchery is not a crusader against the commercialization and exploitation of the medical establishment. He is a charlatan who spreads canards about Public Health programs like immunization. And he does this to further his commercial interests as a leading dispenser of quackery. Jacob Vadakkanchery runs hospitals named "Nature Life Hospital" in various cities, without any professional training or qualification in any branch of medicine. He treats patients for diseases ranging from heart disease to cancer without any qualification whatsoever to do so; sometimes with disastrous results. He has been punished by the Consumer Redressal Forum, Kozhikode following the death of a patient treated in this centre.

More dangerously, he actively campaigns against the public health system with lies and half-truths as the main weapons. One of his early targets has been the immunization programme. He has propagated that vaccines are fatal poisons and that modern medicine doctors never vaccinate their children. Many young doctors had to come out with live videos of their children being vaccinated to counter this. He has held that blood transfusion is dangerous and should never be resorted to. He has alleged that polio, diphtheria and rubella vaccines are dangerous and constitute a conspiracy by the doctors and pharma companies against the people. The vaccination rates dropped in some of the northern districts where this type of campaign was at its height. Cases of diphtheria reappeared, and a few children died. When doctors and health workers were desperately trying to fight this re-emergence, he accused that vaccines are an international conspiracy to sterilize children and decrease population! It was at this time that many young doctors and public health activists raised the demand that he should be legally proceeded against. It was not the medical establishment but groups of young activist doctors like the Info-Clinic Facebook group and organisations like KSSP that raised this demand.

During the Nipah epidemic when doctors, nurses and health workers were risking their lives to contain the disease and public caution and quarantine were the chief means at their disposal, he declared that there is nothing such as the Nipah virus and the whole thing was a hoax.

After the floods, there has been a spate of epidemic leptospirosis cases with many deaths. The only feasible short term prophylactic measure has been Doxycycline therapy, to be used in conjunction with other measures like cleaning up, chlorination and such other measures, being done by thousands of young volunteers. Most of the deaths so far have been in people who were exposed to risk factors but did not take the prophylactic as advised. Jacob Vadakkanchery has campaigned against the drug saying that it is a poison, misinterpreting and quoting wrongly about the side effects given in pharmacology textbooks.
We request you to please judge for yourselves the serious consequences of his actions and whether creating scare and panic in desperate epidemic situations constitutes fight against Global Pharma. It is under these circumstances that he has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody. It is at best to be regarded as a judicial quarantine. The man has been restrained so that his unscientific tirade against lifesaving prophylaxis and treatment can be prevented till the crisis blows over. What is more important is that he be held accountable for his mala fide actions like any other citizen and not protected by anyone bringing in extraneous pressure.

By no logic can the arrest and detaining of Jacob Vadakkanchery be construed as a denial of the democratic right of citizens for dissent. After the heaviest rains and flooding of the century, there is every possibility of explosive epidemics killing people in large numbers. The government and health activists are working overtime educating people on the importance of precautionary measures like personal and social hygiene, waste disposal, sanitation, safe drinking water, vector control and other prophylactic measures accepted all over the world. Permitting a well-known charlatan who has already done immense damage to the health of people to campaign against prophylactic drug therapy may have disastrous results. No democratic government can permit risking people’s lives in such manner.

We believe that the way to good health can only be achieved by good, humane and precise science, especially in a developing country. At the same time, we are in solidarity with all those fighting forces that exploit technologies of modern medicine for unreasonable profit. But this fight should in no way include the promotion of charlatanism.

Signed: Thiruvananthauram September, 12, 2018

1. B Ekbal, (Member, Kerala State Planning Board, Former Professor of Neurosurgery)
2. K.P Aravindan (Member, State Committee KSSP, Former Professor of Pathology)
3. V. Ramankutty (Professor and Head, Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies)
4. Babu K V (Health Activist)
5. P K Jameela (Consultant Aadram Mission, Former Director of Health Services)
6. Saiju Hameed (State Convenor, Alliance of Doctors for Ethics in Health, and Superintendent, District Hospital, Kollam)
7. AK Jayasree, (Professor, Community Medicine, ACME,
8. K Vijayakumar (Professor, Community Medicine, AIMS, Kochi)
9. S. Santhosh Kumar (Vice President, South Asia, Medicins Sans Frontiers, Deputy Super)
10. Mohammed Asheel (Director, Kerala Social Security Mission and former Nodal Officer, Endosulfan Rehabilitation Cell)
11. V.G. Pradeep Kumar (Consultant Neurologist, Baby Memorial Hospital)
12. K.R. Thankappan (Emeritus Professor, Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies)
13. Sairu Philip (Professor of Community Medicine, Vice Principal Medical College, Alapuzha)
14. Biju Soman (Professor, Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies
15. T Jayakrishnan (Professor of Community Medicine, Medical College, Kozhikode)
16. Jimmy Mathew (Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, AIMS, Kochi)
17. Midhun Siddharthan (Convenor, Health committee, KSSP)
18. Divya V.S. (Consultant Aadram Mission)
19. PNN Pisharody (Paediatrician, District Early Intervention Cell, Ernakulam)
20. Purushothaman K K (Prof and HOD, Dept. of Paediatrics,Thrissur Medical College)
21. Mohandas Nair (Professor of Pediatrics, Govt Medical College, Kozhikode)
22. Hemachandran K (Senior Specialist, Strategic Planning, Primary Health Care Corporation, Ministry of Public Health, Government of Qatar)
23. Althaf Ali (Associate Prof, Community Medicine, Govt Medical College, Manjeri)
24. Jinesh P S (Info clinic)
25. Deepu S (Info clinic)
26. Nelson Joseph (Info clinic)
27. Shimna Aziz (Info clinic)
28. Jithin T Joseph (Info clinic)
29. Kiran Narayanan (Info clinic)
30. Jamal T M (Info clinic)
31. Shahul Ameen (Editor, Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine.)
32. Jimmy Mathew (Prof. Dept of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, AIMS, Kochi)
33. Mohamed Abdullatheef TK
34. Javed Anees
35. Manoj Vellanad
36. Navajeevan N
37. Anjit Unni (Assistant Prof, Pathology, Govt Medical College, Manjeri)
38. Pallavi Gopinathan
39. Manu Muraleedharan
40. Anand S Manjeri
41. Arun Mangalath
42. Sree Jitha
43. Jithesh Krishnan K A
44. Viswanathan K
45. Divya Birenjith
46. Sunil P K
47. Sabna S Champad
48. Ladeeda Rayya (Medical Student)
49. Bebeto Thimothy
         50.    Rani Jancy A R.               51.   Dr M. Muraleedharan

Nuns protest demanding arrest of Jalandhar bishop

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KOCHI: Several nuns have are protesting at high court junction in Kochi against the delay in arresting Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulackal. A public protest by nuns against the bishop may be the first time in history. The protest is led by five nuns who stand firmly with the victim. The family members of the victim are also participating in the protest. Joint Christian Council who try to reform the church are the coordinators of the protest.

Nuns said that the government and police are not standing with them and they rely only on the court now. The family of victim will approach the high court on Monday alleging that attempts have been made to sabotage the investigation. Kerala Catholic Youth Movement (KCYM) have also turned against the bishop. Meantime, it has been informed that Bishop Franco is preparing to participate in the synod of bishops in Rome. However, DYSP K Subhash said that the bishop cannot leave the country since investigation is ongoing. The family of the victim have also said that the bishop may leave the country using his influence. There have been conflicts within the church since the arrest is being delayed even after obtaining necessary evidences.

KCYM Ernakulam Angamaly diocese committee have demanded the arrest of Bishop Franco who sexually abused the nun. The investigation team is still taking statements from the victim and accused again and again. Meantime, Angamaly diocese vice president Hilda Sebastian said that the bishop should be brought in front of justice if there is necessary evidence. He should be punished according to the Indian Penal Code. There should not be any attempts to settle the case. If anyone had hidden the complaint, it is a disgrace for the church. Case should be filed against people who made such attempts’, he said.

International Criminal Court to investigate crimes against Rohingyas

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HAGUE: The International Criminal Court (ICC) has the jurisdiction to investigate the crimes that have been committed against the Muslim minority Rohingya community in Myanmar's Rakhine state, the court ruled on Thursday.
"The Court has jurisdiction over the crime against humanity of deportation allegedly committed against members of the Rohingya people. The reason is that an element of this crime -- the crossing of a border -- took place on the territory of a State party [Bangladesh]," the court said in a statement, reported Anadolu.
The Hague-based court further noted that it may, "exercise its jurisdiction with regard to any other crime set out in article 5 of the [ICC Rome] Statute, such as the crimes against humanity of persecution and/or other inhumane acts."
It also urged the prosecutor to take the ruling into account while conducting preliminary examination over the alleged crimes committed against the Rohingya.
In continuation with Myanmar's operations against the Rohingyas, two Reuters journalists, who were accused of breaching Myanmar's official secrets act during their reporting of the Rohingya crisis, were on September 3 sentenced to seven years each in jail by a Yangon court, CNN reported.
Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were detained in last December, after working on an investigation into the mass killing of a number of Rohingya villagers in Myanmar's Rakhine state.
The Rohingyas are a Muslim minority ethnic group in Myanmar and are considered to be illegal immigrants. More than 700,000 of them are languishing in Bangladeshi refugee camps, after fleeing a brutal Myanmar army campaign in August last year.