Nun murder: Plea for action against media dismissed

The Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Kochi on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking contempt of court proceedings against the television channels that had telecast the contents of the CDs of narco-analyses of the three accused in the sensational Sr Abhaya murder case.

The petition was submitted by the brother of Sr Sephy (49), third accused in the 19-year-old murder case. Several television channels had telecast the visuals of the narco-analysis procedures on her and the other two accused who were senior priests of the Catholic Church.

The telecast of the visuals of the narco-analyses of senior Catholic priests Fr Thomas M Kottoor and Fr Jose Puthrukayil, first and second accused respectively, and Sr Sephy had caused stiff protests from some sections. There were even allegations that the CBI, which was investigating the nun’s murder, could have deliberately leaked the CDs to the media.

The CDs containing visuals of the scientific examinations on the accused were aired by the television channels after the court had examined them in detail. The court had asked the channels to stop telecasting the tapes immediately after it took notice of the development. The CJM Court on Wednesday rejected the petition after examining all these matters in detail.

The visuals of the narco-analyses had reportedly justified the claim of the CBI that the accused had admitted to their crime of murdering Sr Abhaya, a nun of the St Pius X Convent in Kottayam. However, there were allegations that the visuals on the CDs were edited and manipulated.

Sr Sephy had on September 15, 2009 prayed to the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court to order a probe into the leakage of the CDs containing visuals of her narco-analysis into the media. The CBI arrested Sr Sephy along with Fr Thomas M Kottoor and Fr Jose Puthrukayil on November 19, 2008.

The body of Catholic nun Sr Abhaya (19) was found in the well of St Pius X Convent in Kottayam on the morning of March 27, 1992. The CBI had concluded that the two priests and Sr Sephy struck her in the head with a blunt object after she had seen them in sexually explicit postures in a room in the convent and threw her in the well.

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