Koora Thangal appointed as Ullal Khazi

Kochi, Mar 1:Adheringto a policy of "zero tolerance" towards clergy who sexually exploit minors, Pope Francis has expelled a Kerala priestconvicted of rape from all priestly duties and rights, according to church officials.

Syro-Malabar Church priest Robin Vadakkumchery is currently serving a jail term for impregnating a 16-year-old girl in Mananthavady diocese.

"Vadakkumchery has been dispensed from the exercise of priestly duties and rights. That means he has been reduced to the state of a layman", a Church official told PTI.

He was suspended from priestly duties soon after the news about his crime was reported in early 2017.

A POCSO court in Thalassery last year had sentenced Vadakkumchery to 20 years of Rigorous Imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs three lakh on him.

The priest, 50, was the vicar of the local church in Kottiyur in Kannur district and manager at the school where the victim was studying.

He was arrested two years ago while trying to flee to Canada.

The Vatican's action came two years after Pope Francis made it clear that all bishops should adhere to a policy of "zero tolerance" for clergy who sexually exploit children.

Kasaragod, May 25: An autorickshaw driver from Belur in Kasaragod was admitted for surgery to a hospital after being hit on the head by a falling jackfruit. He was tested positive for the coronavirus. It is not clear how he contracted the viral infection.

“While he was trying to pluck a jackfruit off a tree, one of them fell on him, injuring his spine. His hands and legs were weakened too. His condition required surgery. Our protocol dictates that we subject everyone who require immediate surgery to the covid test, just to be sure. That’s when he tested positive,” said Dr K Sudeep, superintendent of the Pariyaram Medical College in Kannur.

“He had symptoms of Covid-19. But he has no recent travel history or contact with any infected person. We’re not sure if he got it through one of his passengers in the rickshaw. He had visited the district hospital once so he could have got it from there. Anyway, we are examining it and preparing the route maps,” he added.

His family will be quarantined and health workers have begun to trace his immediate primary contacts.

Though there have been a number of cases in Kerala where a person’s source of infection could not be correctly ascertained, such people have gone on to recover without spreading the infection to others.

The Kerala government is conducting testing of high-risk persons on the frontlines, such as police officials, grocery vendors and health workers, as part of its sentinel surveillance programme, but maintains that there’s little evidence of a community spread in the state.

Bengaluru, Jan 23: Karnataka government on Thursday notified the much-hyped anti-superstition law that aims to prevent and eradicate "inhuman evil practices".

According to Social Welfare principal Secretary G Kumar Naik, the state social welfare department has issued a gazette notification and The Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act, 2017, that intends to protect the common people against "evil" and "sinister" practices, shall come into force with effect from January 4 2020, the government notification issued earlier this month read.

The act seeks to combat and eradicate such inhuman practices propagated and performed in the name of "black magic" by conmen with the sinister motive of exploiting the common people, thereby destroying the social fabric of the society.