Bishop Franco Mulakkal shaming me on social media, says Kerala nun

The Kerala nun, who had accused then bishop of Jalandhar diocese Franco Mulakkal of sexual assault, last week filed a complaint with the state women commission saying he and his supporters were allegedly shaming her through social media.

The complaint was filed on October 19 and copies were also forwarded to the National Commission for Women and National Human Rights Commission, a spokesman of the Save Our Sisters (SOS), an outfit formed in solidarity with the nun against the bishop, said.

The nun also accused a YouTube channel of dishing out videos and audio defaming her. She also alleged that some websites had revealed her identity, flouting the Supreme Court directive. Last year, she had also filed a complaint against the Jalandhar Diocese for carrying her photo and other details in one of the releases. The release was later withdrawn.

“There is a concerted effort to defame her. All kinds of stories are doing the rounds. They started character assassination after all efforts to cow her down failed,” said the spokesman of the SOS.

In June 2018, the 43-year-old nun, also a mother superior, had complained to the police that Mulakkal had raped her 13 times between 2014 and 2016. The nun is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation based in Punjab. But Mulakkal denied all charges saying he was framed after he took action against her for financial irregularities in the convent.

Later the special investigation team arrested him after several rounds of questioning. He was later granted bail. The charge-sheet was filed in the court two months back and trial will begin on Novemeber 11.

The victim and her five fellow nuns who stood up against the bishop are staying at a convent in Kottayam under tight security following the mysterious death of key witness Father Kattuthara, near Jalandhar.

After his death Sister Anupama, who led a two-week long sit-in in Kochi seeking the arrest of Mulakkal, said they also feared for their lives. Later police directed convent authorities to take a few measures_ install CCTV cameras, proper lighting of the road and sought details of all inmates and workers of the convent. The mother superior said the congregation doesn’t have financial resources to meet this and heightened security measures were affecting other inmates of the convent.

Source : Hindustan Times