Kerala Nun Rape case: Putting on an air of nonchalantness, rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal steps aside. Read his letter here

After a weeks-long slanderous campaign against the complainant and her supporters, rape-accused Bishop of Jalandhar Franco Mulakkal has stepped aside from his duties in light of his being summoned by the Kerala Police in the Kerala Nun rape case probe. 

Bishop Mulakkal has issued a letter where he has tried to take some kind of moral higher ground in stepping aside, referring to the nature of his impending participation in the probe as being one of 'clarification', and has even asked his supporters to pray for the complainant and her supporters "who have come out against me so that divine intervention may bring about change of heart and the truth in the matter may be revealed."

He has appointed persons to perform his duties in his stead, and has, in what can only be seen as an attempt to convey his nonchalant-ness over the allegations levelled against him, conflated the matter of his stepping aside with decisions taken at a Financial Council meeting on September 4.

Bishop Mulakkal stepping aside comes four days before he is to appear before the Kerala Police and four days after Republic TV accessed the Kerala Police's first affidavit in the case in which the conclusion stated clearly that the Bishop had raped the nun repeatedly:

"During the investigation conducted so far and available evidence collected, it is revealed that the accused bishop committed unnatural offence and commitment rape repeatedly on different dates from 05/05/2018 to 23/09/2016 (name not to be revealed) against the will and consent of her by abusing the dominance over her as bishop of Jalandhar after confining her in the guest room of St Francis mission home'"

On Friday, the Kerala Police also registered a case against Church body Missionaries of Jesus for revealing a photo of the alleged rape victim, based on the complaint of the nun's relatives.

Despite the ongoing inquiry, the Church body has been unabashed in its defence of the Bishop, and took matters to new heights by accusing the “nun and her friends” of tampering with the ‘visitors’ register’ and stealing the ‘CCTV system’, and by casting all manner of aspersions on them and their complaints.

“Victim’s friend was handling the visitors register in the convent, they must have tampered with this. The victim had forcefully taken control of the CCTV system from Mother Superior,” the Missionaries of Jesus said in the statement.

On Thursday, the Kerala Police had submitted a second affidavit in the case, even as the Kerala High Court heard a petition seeking a CBI inquiry. The High Court deemed that the central agency was not necessary to probe the case at this point, after which the Kerala police summoned Bishop Mulakkal.