Seventeen years after the death of Kerala nun Sr Abhaya, India’s CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) has charged two priests and a nun with offences related to her murder. The charge sheet filed by the special investigation team led by Deputy Superintendant of Police Mr. Nandakumar Nair implicated Fr Thomas Kottoot, Fr Jose Putrhikkayil and Sr Sephy as the first, second and third accused.
The CBI accuses that the priests and the nun of having held an ‘unlawful assembly” on the day of the murder within the convent premises which caused the death of Sr Abhaya.
The charge sheet also says that the accused had destroyed the material evidences on the murder case. It also accuses the first and the third accused, Fr Thomas Kottoor and Fr Jose Puthrikkayil respectively ‘trespassed’ into the Pius Xth Convent Hostel with the intention of killing Sr Abhaya.
Sr Abhaya was found dead in a well at her convent on March 27 1992.The Local Police and the Crime Branch in their subsequent investigation then dismissed it as suicide.
Following an appeal to the high court by the local people CBI took over the case in March 1993. Deputy Superintendent of CBI Varghese P Thomas who was in charge of the investigation resigned saying that he was pressurized to write off the case as Suicide by his superior V Thiagarajan.
Earlier, the Kerala High Court had granted permission to the third accused to leave the state for treatment, Indian Catholic says in another report.
Fr Puthrikkayil had appealed to the High Court since it was difficult for him to seek permission from the Magistrate Court and move out of the residence whenever necessary since he also had duties to fulfill as the principal of the Pius X College, Kasargod.
He appealed to the Court that he be allowed to go for a treatment outside the state since he was suffering acute side effects of the Narco-Analysis test conducted on him. He claimed that he is having sleepless nights and mental disorders as a side effect of the test.
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Source (CTHAS)
SV (ED)