Nun writes to Vatican against Bishop, seeks justice

Agencies
September 11, 2018

Kochi, Sept 11: A nun who has accused a Roman Catholic Bishop of raping her has petitioned the Vatican representative in India alleging that the clergyman was using "political and money power" to bury the case and sought his removal from the post.

In a letter to Giambattista Diquattro, Vatican's Apostolic Nuncio (a diplomatic mission), the nun said she has turned to the Church authorities for justice. "Seeking your urgent intervention in this case as the representative of the Holy See in India," she said.

She alleged that by continuing in the position of Jalandhar diocese Bishop, Franco Mulakkal and his close associates "are using the wealth of the diocese to divert" the course of the police investigation.

Her missive comes amid protests by a group of nuns and others against the delay in taking action against the bishop, who has been accused of rape and unnatural sex with the complainant multiple times between 2014 and 2016. "They are arranging people to attack us and Bishop Franco is using his political power and money to get higher authorities of the investigation and the government to bury legal proceedings that I have filed against him," the nun charged.

In the September 8 letter, a copy of which is available with the media Tuesday, she alleged that the Bishop and his associates were luring people to take a stand supportive of them by assuring them properties and other forms of wealth.

Noting that she had filed the complaint against the bishop two months ago, the nun claimed even though the Special Investigation Team probing it was convinced of the proofs, they were not able to arrest him because of his political and economic power.

Copies of the letter were sent to 21 others, including the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) President Cardinal Oswald Gracias and Delhi Metropolitan Archbishop, Anil Couto.

"Being a religious sister who is denied justice from the congregation authority and from the Church authority of Latin and Syro Malabar Churches, once again I implore your mercy on my situation.

"I beg the Church authorities to kindly make a speedy enquiry about this case and remove Bishop Franco from his responsibilities as the spiritual leader of the diocese," the nun said.

The letter surfaced as the protest by various Catholic Reform organisations in Kochi seeking justice for the nun entered the fourth day Tuesday.

Workers of various organisations continued to visit the protest venue extending their support.

The protesters, including five fellow nuns of the rape survivor, said that they would continue their agitation till action was taken against the Bishop.

They have alleged that top police officials were trying to sabotage the probe.

With the police facing heat, a senior official has Monday said the bishop may be summoned to Kerala for interrogation.

Meanwhile, a pro-church outfit Catholic Federation of India alleged "mystery" behind the nun's charges.

Alleging a conspiracy to destroy the Church in Kerala, it demanded a judicial probe into the whole episode.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

Kochi, Jan 11: Two of the four illegal apartment complexes were brought down by controlled implosion here on Saturday.

However, the other two apartments-- Golden Kayaloram and Jain Coral-- will be demolished on Sunday.

The demolition of the first building Holy Faith H2O, slated to be carried out at 11 am, was delayed by 18 minutes while the twin towers of Alfa Serene, which is surrounded by 36 houses, were brought down at 11.43 am.

As per authorities, as many as 343 kgs of explosives were used for the demolition of twin towers of Alfa Serene, which had 80 apartments and 16 floors each.

Section 144 has been imposed within a 200-metre radius of the complexes on Saturday and Sunday. Moreover, traffic has been halted on land, water and air in the evacuation zone during the process.

There are concerns that some concrete pieces of the second tower of the building may have fallen into the lake nearby. It is yet to be estimated if the debris or concrete pieces have affected the buildings nearby.

The four apartment complexes in Maradu were ordered to be demolished by the Supreme Court for violating the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.

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Agencies
May 26,2020

New Delhi, May 26: The in-fighting among the residents of housing societies over feeding of stray dogs is nowhere near ending, with yet another attack on a pregnant Russian woman again in the national capital region this time in Noida.

The Russian woman residing in a condominium in Noida's Sector 71 was allegedly attacked by two men for feeding foundling canines inside the complex.

"We have initiated an inquiry and a case has been registered against the men for voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation," Amit Kumar Singh, Station House Officer of Phase 3 police station told IANS.

The police said that the victim is married to an Indian man and they live in that society.

The issue was raked up on social media by one of the residents of the society. Her post had even solicited a response and help from the Noida Police Commissioner.

Kaveri Rana Bharadwaj wrote, "Mob led by Vikas Sharma, and Mr. Chauhan beat up a pregnant woman in Jagriti Apartment, Sector 71 Noida. Request you to immediately arrest these men and provide security to the scared woman!"

When contacted, a member of the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) of the society said that the allegations levied by her are false and that he, along with a handful of other people, had only asked her not to feed the dogs.

Vikas Sharma divulged, "The woman was called at the society gate by the members of the RWA. When she was asked not to feed the street dogs, she became aggressive, started fighting with the residents of the society and even pushed a 70-year-old woman. The complaint that she registered against us is false. We did not even touch her."

He added that there are 70-80 street dogs in the society who have lately become extremely aggressive. "The lady was asked not to feed them as people feared stepping out of their houses and getting bitten."

In another incident on Tuesday, a Greater Noida man beat up a Chinese woman for allegedly fostering a stray dog which bit his canine.

Greater Noida District Commissioner of Police Rajesh Kumar Singh told IANS that the man named Amar Pratap Singh of ATS Paradiso misbehaved with the woman after his dog was bit by another dog who she used to feed every day.

The incident happened in the wee hours of the day when the accused took his dog out for a walk. "After his dog was bitten, in a fit of rage, he misbehaved with the Chinese woman." A Non-Cognizable Report (NCR) has been registered and no arrests have been made so far, the police said.

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News Network
April 9,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 9: Kerala, which was among the first state in the country to report a Corona positive case, has turned its entire public healthcare system into a single interconnected grid to generate uninterrupted information and provide flawless services, thanks to the daily zoom or video conferences of top health authorities for chalking out a dynamic strategy to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The daily zoom or remote conferences held by Health Minister K K Shailaja and top health sector officials with the medical and paramedical personnel on the ground have lent a cutting edge to the state government’s all out efforts in monitoring the situation on the ground and formulating effective responses to address the various needs and concerns of the people, an official release said on Thursday.

The Minister is joined in this meticulous exercise by top administrators and planners, including Dr Rajan N Khobragade, Principal Secretary, Health; Dr. Rathan U Kelker, State Mission Director, National Health Mission, Dr Saritha, Director of Health Services, Dr Ramla Beevi, Director of Medical Education and other senior officials.

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