The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Tirupur city police registered a case against them for swindling Rs15 crore.
The complaint was lodged by parish member of St Paul's Church, A Dilip kumar, 64, of Saibaba Nagar at Valayankadu in Tirupur.
Dilipkumar approached the Tirupur city police commissioner to register a case against Bishop Timothy Ravindran and 11 others last year. But the police did not take any steps. He then moved the judicial magistrate court-I in Tirupur. A few days ago, the court had directed the CCB to register an FIR against the 12.
Dilip kumar, a member of CSI for the 60 years and permanent member of St Paul's Church for the last 30 years, said in his complaint that church authorities didn't give receipt to the members who donated lakhs of rupees to construct new community hall, Sunday school and parsonage.
"The authorities had collected crores of rupees in donations from various people. When they were questioned, they replied that all accounts were submitted to the Bishop," Dilip kumar said.
"Church funds to the tune of Rs15 crore were misused by the Bishop, secretary of the Coimbatore diocesan office G Prince Calvin, treasurers Samuel David Mangal Doss, Wilson Kumararea chairman of CSI St Church Mettupalayam, T Vijayan chairman of St Paul's church Tirupur, secretary of the church John Chandraraj and a few others," he told in the complaint.
Based on the court direction, CCB inspector S Muthumalai has registered a case against the 12 people under Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 406 (punishment for criminal preach of trust), 408 (criminal preach of trust by clerk or servant), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 506 (i) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
The 12 were asked to appear before the CCB police for further investigation.