Whatz happening in Churches and Convents- High Jumping Fathers and Hymen Restoring Nuns!

The
CBI on Wednesday charged the Knanaya Catholic Church in the State with
organised efforts to destroy evidences and derail the probe in the case
pertaining to the murder of Sr Abhaya, a nun of the Church, in 1992.
The investigating agency told the Kerala High Court that there was a
concerted effort on the part of the Knanaya Church to publicise that
the CBI was needlessly persecuting its two priests and a nun, arrested
as the first three accused in the case.

In response to the CBI’s
submissions, the High Court observed that the situation was so serious
that the investigators might need special protection. Justice K Hema of
the High Court rejected several arguments of the accused.

The
Knanaya Church had been organising continuous programmes like prayer
meets and fasts saying that the accused priests and nun were innocent.
It had also been brining up petitions continuously in the court
charging the CBI with various crimes, which according to the agency
were efforts to create a sentiment amongst the public against the
agency.

As the court considered the bail applications of the
accused, the CBI opposed them saying the accused were influential
church personalities who could manipulate the investigation through
several means if they were released. The CBI, on the instruction of the
court, presented all vital evidences to the court to support its
arguments.

The investigating agency had arrested Fr Thomas M
Kottoor, the Church’s chancellor at the Kottayam Archdiocese, Fr Jose
Puthrukayil, Principal of a college run by the Church, and Sr Seffi, a
senior nun at the St Pius X Convent, Kottayam where Sr Abhaya was
murdered in the early morning of March 27, 1992, as first, second and
third accused respectively. All the three were in CBI custody from the
day of their arrest, November 19, to December 2 and afterwards they
were remanded in judicial custody till December 16.

The CBI’s
finding is that the accused had struck Sr Abhaya in the head twice with
the back of an axe with the intention to kill her, fearing that she
might reveal the immoral act of the priests with the nuns in the
convent. After she went limp, the two priests threw her in the well of
the convent, the CBI says. Sr Seffi, with whom the priests had illicit
relationship, had helped them in throwing Sr Abhaya in the well, the
agency alleged.

The CBI told the court on Wednesday an
eye-witness, guard Chellappadas of the church near the convent, had
deposed that he had seen Fr Puthrukayil jumping over the convent’s
compound wall in the back and running away. Three priests, including Fr
Jossy Michael, had told the CBI that Sr Abhaya had seen the two priests
engaged in immoral act with the nun, and this was the reason for the
murder.

Two other witnesses, Raju alias Adakka Raju, a common
thief, and Sanju P Mathew, residing in the house near the convent,
confirmed that the two priests were in the convent on the night of the
incident. Raju said he had seen the two priests in the convent on the
night of the incident, when he had entered the convent on his nightly
job. Sanju P Mathew had seen Fr Kottoor’s two-wheeler in front of the
convent at the unearthly hours.

The CBI told the court that VV
Augustine, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police, who prepared the inquest
on the body of Sr Abhaya, had told the agency the day before his death
that he had destroyed and manipulated evidences due to pressure from
his superiors. Augustine, who was found dead at his house plot on
November 25, had told the CBI that he had deliberately avoided
mentioning the injury marks on Sr Abhaya’s body and other
circumstantial evidences due to this pressure. The CBI now knew who
these superiors were.

Eye-witnesses had told the CBI that the
two priests had been regular visitors to the convent and that they had
seen their car and two-wheeler in front of the convent on several
nights. The CBI also told the court that the very fact that Sr Seffi
had undergone hymen restoration surgery when the case was progressing
was a strong suggestion of her involvement.

Apart from all this, the accused had admitted to their crime during the narco-analysis and had
confirmed later that what they revealed during that test were correct.
When the accused requested to the court to disregard the result of the
narco-analysis, the court responded by saying that such evidences could
not be disregarded.

The court, which took up the bail
applications on Wednesday morning, had posted them for consideration on
Thursday on the ground that the CBI should submit all direct and
indirect evidences for its argument not to grant bail to the accused.
But the CBI insisted that the case be taken up on Wednesday itself, and
in no time the agency produced all he evidences. The court said the
case would continue to be examined as there were several documents to
be looked into.