Rose Petals, Garland: Grand Welcome For Rape-Accused Bishop In Jalandhar
Rape accused bishop Franco welcomed with rose petals in Jalandhar
Roman Catholic bishop Franco Mulakkal, who faces allegations of raping a nun, received a floral welcome from his supporters when he reached Jalandhar as Kerala court released him on bail.
Mulakkal smiled as followers showered rose petals on him. Till a few weeks ago, he held charge as the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese.
He was granted conditional bail by the Kerala High Court on Monday, and released from a jail near Kottayam a day later.
He was arrested on September 21 after being accused of repeatedly raping and sexually abusing a nun between 2014 and 2016.
While granting bail, the court had directed him to surrender his passport and not to enter home state Kerala except for appearing before the probe officer once in two weeks.
In her complaint to the Kottayam Police in June, the nun had alleged that Bishop Mulakkal raped her at a guest house in May 2014 and later sexually exploited her on several occasions.
The nun said in her complaint that she had to approach the police as the church authorities did not act on her repeated complaints.
-PTC News
