Indian Catholic bishop arrested after nun rape accusations
The nun told police in June that the bishop raped her from 2014 to 2016 and accused the church of trying to cover it up
Indian police on Friday arrested a Catholic bishop accused by a nun of repeatedly raping her over a period of two years.
The arrest of Franco Mulakkal came after police questioned him for three days in southern Indian city of Kochi. He is the bishop of the northern Indian city of Jalandhar.
The nun with the Missionaries of Jesus order filed a police complaint in June accusing the bishop of raping her from 2014 to 2016.
In her police complaint, the nun alleged that Mulakkal raped her at a guest house in May 2014 and later sexually exploited her on several occasions. She said she had to approach police because church authorities did not act on her complaints.
Earlier this month, she had written to the Vatican’s representative in New Delhi, alleging that the bishop was using “political and money power” to “bury” the case.
On Thursday, the Vatican relieved Mulakkal “temporarily” of all pastoral responsibilities as the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese, the Press Trust reported.