ChristianShame.com

Sister Abhaya

Kochi (PTI): The 16-year-old case of Sister Abhaya’s death under mysterious circumstances in Kerala took a new turn on Wednesday with the CBI making the first arrests when it took two Christian priests and a nun into custody on charges of murder.

The arrest of Father Thomas M Kottur (61), Chancellor of the Kottayam Dioceses and Father Dr Jose Puthrukkayil (56), Principal of the St Pius Xth college, Rajapuram, Kasaragod and Sister Sephi (45) from Kottayam by CBI’s Kochi unit came less than a month after it took over investigations from the agency’s Delhi wing on a High Court directive.

The priests were arrested on Tuesday while the nun was taken into custody this morning.

The three were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate court Ernakulam and remanded to CBI custody till Dec 2. They have been charged under IPC Sect 302 (murder), according to the remand report.

CBI Joint Director Ashok Kumar told reporters here that the agency had made the arrests after obtaining “fresh” and “concrete” evidence against them.

Abhaya (21), a pre-degree student and an inmate of the St Pius Convent, Kottayam, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Mar 27, 1992 in a well. While initially the local police and the state Crime Branch which investigated the case concluded that the nun had committed suicide, the case was handed over to the CBI by the High Court on a petition by Abhaya’s father.

The CBI, which took over the case on March 29, 2003, had earlier filed three closure reports, saying though it was a case of murder, the suspects could not be found. The High Court refused to accept the report and askedthe probe agency to further investigate.

The arrests evoked sharp reaction from the church. The spokesperson of the Kottayam Archdioceses said there was “something mysterious” in the arrests and claimed the three were “innocent”.

Cited From:

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200811200330.htm