Kerala nun rape case: Protest to arrest the accused Bishop enters day 4

The protest against Bishop of Jalandhar, Franco Mulakkal, who is accused of allegedly raping a nun, has entered the fourth day in Kochi today. The nuns are demanding action against the Bishop.

Being staged at the High Court Junction bus station, the protest has been called by the Joint Christian Council. The protesting nuns have claimed that they are not getting help from the police, church authorities and the government. They have alleged that the probe is being delayed since the Bishop belongs to a higher authority and is not a layman.

The Missionaries of Jesus on Monday called the rape accused Jalandhar Bishop an "innocent soul" and even claimed that the protesting nuns were being guided by external forces.

Bishop Mullackal has been accused of raping and having unnatural sex multiple times with a nun in Kottayam, between 2014 and 2016. While narrating her ordeal to the district police chief, the nun had said that she was raped around 13 times over a span of two years.

Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) PC George stoked a controversy last week after he termed the rape victim nun a "prostitute". "No one has a doubt that the nun is a prostitute. 12 times she enjoyed it and the 13th time it is rape? Why didn't she complain the first time?" George, an independent MLA of the Poonjar constituency in the Kottayam district, had said.

His statements were condemned by the Kerala Mahila Federation and the National Commission for Women (NCW). George has been summoned by the NCW for his remarks, while its chief Rekha Sharma demanded strict action against the MLA.

-ANI