Kerala activist, on hunger strike for arrest of Bishop Mulakkal, hospitalised

Recently, social activist Stephen Mathew, who has was a hunger strike for the past nine days demanding the arrest of rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal, was hospitalised on Sunday after his health deteriorated further.

54-year-old Roman Catholic Bishop, Franco Mulakkal, is accused by a Kerala nun of raping her several times between 2014 and 2016. The rape victim has written a letter to the Vatican and have sought their intervention in this regard. She has also raised a question asking, why the apex church body  has turned blind to the truth, when she has gathered the courage to make her suffering, public. The nun has also alleged that Bishop Mulakkal is using his money and political power to muzzle her voice. On the contrary, the Bishop called her allegations as concocted and baseless.

Aloshi Joseph, a member of the Catholic Reformation Movement had joined Stephen Mathew in the indefinite hunger strike demanding the arrest of Bishop Mulakkal, on Saturday.

On that very day, the Bishop stepped down, handing over charge of the Jalandhar diocese to Father Joseph Thekkumkattil and Father Subin Thekkedathu. On 19 September 2018, the Kerala police summoned the notorious priest for questioning and is expected to head towards Kerala soon.

#KeralaNun rape case: Jalandhar police has served a notice to Bishop Franco Mulakkal, to appear before Kerala police on 19 September.

— ANI (@ANI) September 15, 2018

Nuns from the Joint Christian Council to which Mathew belongs had staged a sit-in protest at the High Court Junction bus station in Kochi to demand that the Bishop be arrested.

Also read: Kerala nun rape accused Mulakkal claims nun had an illicit relationship with relative