‘Hugged and kissed me’: Another nun accuses Bishop Franco of sexual abuse

News Network
February 21, 2020

Thiruvanthapuram, Feb 21: Rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal has been accused of sexual abuse by another nun. Police sources say that there is at least one more nun who has given a statement of sexual assault against the bishop.

This nun is a witness in the rape case registered against Franco Mulakkal. She is the 14th witness in the case and in her statement, she said that the bishop made sexually-colored and lewd remarks to her over the phone.

As per the nun, they were in communication via phone calls, chat and video calls for a period of two years from 2015 to 2017.

In the statement, the nun said that she kept quiet as she was scared of the bishop.

In her witness statement in September 2018, she said that in 2017, the bishop visited the convent she was in and hugged and kissed her.

Police say that the witness was not ready to file a complaint against the bishop. They had alerted the police in the jurisdiction and when the team met her, she refused to file a complaint. Hence a separate case wasn't registered against Bishop Franco

The first nun of Missionaries of Jesus had accused Franco of raping her multiple times at the Kuruvilangadu convent in Kottayam. The FIR in the case was registered in June 2018.

Then after protests, Franco was arrested on September 21, 2018.

The chargesheet in the case was submitted in April 2019. In the chargesheet, Bishop Franco Mullackal has been charged under various sections of the IPC: 342 (wrongful confinement), 376 (2k) (rape on a woman incapable of giving consent), 376 (2n) (causing grievous bodily harm during rape), 376 (c) (a) 377 (unnatural offence) and 506 (1) (criminal intimidation).

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News Network
May 17,2020

Mangaluru, May 17: A team of staff and students from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, NMAM Institute of Technology, Nitte, have designed and developed a simple and cost-effective touch-less hand sanitiser dispenser kit at Research and Innovation Centre, Nitte.

According to a release here on Sunday, NITTE said that the most effective medicine for Covid-19 is social distancing, frequent use of sanitiser, and washing hands regularly. In work areas, many people sharing common sanitiser might lead to issues.

The developed product dispenses sanitiser upon sensing the presence of the hand. The product has features like automatic hand detection, indication for power, and sanitiser quantity in the system.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 19,2020

Bengaluru, May 19: Karnataka on Tuesday recorded the highest single-day rise in the COVID-19 cases in the state as a whooping 149 people tested positive for the virus. With the spike in new cases, the overall tally has risen to 1,395.

This is for the first time the state recorded 100 plus cases in a single day. So far, 40 people have also succumbed to the virus including three deaths today. 

The new deaths consist of a 61-year-old male patient, a resident of Ballari; a 65-year-old male patient, a resident of Vijayapura; and a 54-year-old male patient from Bengaluru.

Among the new cases, a maximum of 71 are reported from Mandya, followed by 22 in Davanagere, 10 in Shivamogga, 13 in Kalaburgi, six in Bengaluru Urban, four each in Udupi and Uttara Kannada, five in Chikkamagaluru, three in Hassan and one each in Yadagiri, Chitradurga, Vijayapura, Gadag.

Most of the new cases are of the people who traveled to Mumbai in Maharashtra, Solapur, Ahmedabad, and Kerala.

The remaining are those who came in contact with the people who had tested positive earlier.

At present, 811 people are actively taking treatment, while 543 have been discharged after recovery.

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 30,2020

Mangaluru, July 30: Medical doctor turned IAS officer K V Rajendra assumed charge as the 130th deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district here today.

The 2013 batch Karnataka cadre officer succeeds Sindhu B Rupesh, who was transferred as Director of Electronic Delivery of Citizen Services (EDCS), Bengaluru. The outgoing DC welcomed the new DC in the presence of staff. 

Dr Rajendra said that he expects cooperation from all stakeholders in administering the district, amidst the mounting Covid-19 cases.

Rajendra, an alumnus of JJM Medical College, Davanagere, was serving as the CEO of Belagavi zilla panchayat before being posted as DC of this coastal district. 

Having served as assistant commissioner of Puttur sub-division for nearly a year from December 2015, Dr Rajendra, hails from Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district, had his probationary training in Bidar. He posted as CEO of Ballari ZP where he worked for nearly three till 21, 2019.

He also had a brief stint as assistant secretary in the department of fertiliser with the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers.

Sindhu who was the CEO of Udupi zilla panchayat had succeeded Sasikanth Senthil, who resigned from the Indian Administrative Service on September 6, 2019. She had taken charge on September 7, 2019.

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