Sister Abhaya, 21, was murdered and her physique was dumped contained in the nicely of a convent in Kottayam.
Highlights
- Sister Abhaya killed, physique dumped in convent nicely in Kottayam in 1992
- Father Thomas Kottoor, hostel in-charge Sister Sephy convicted
- Quantum of punishment shall be delivered tomorrow
Thiruvananthapuram:
A particular CBI court docket in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram in the present day delivered its verdict in a 28-year-old homicide case because it held a Catholic priest and a nun responsible. Sister Abhaya, 21, was murdered and her physique was dumped contained in the nicely of a convent in Kottayam in 1992.
Amongst these convicted is Father Thomas Kottoor, who was a Vicar and taught Sister Abhaya psychology at Kottayam’s BCM School. He was additionally Secretary to the then Bishop. He later rose to be Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese in Kottayam.
One other convict, Sister Sephy, stayed in the identical hostel as Sister Abhaya and was de facto in-charge of the hostel. The quantum of punishment shall be delivered tomorrow.
Each of them have been discovered responsible of homicide and destruction of the proof. Father Thomas Kottoor has additionally been convicted of house-trespassing.
Human rights activist Jomon Puthenpurackal, the lone surviving member of the panel that fought to pursue justice within the homicide case, mentioned: “Sister Abhaya’s case has lastly obtained justice. She’s going to relaxation in peace. It is a traditional instance of how nobody ought to assume that simply because they’ve energy – cash and muscle energy – they’ll de-rail justice.”
As per the CBI, Sister Abhaya was witness to intimate contacts between Kottoor, one other Father, Jose Poothrikkayil, and Sephy on March 27, 1992 as she went from her hostel room to the kitchen at round 4.15 AM.
Between 4:15 AM and 5 AM, the accused allegedly hit Sister Abhaya with a blunt object and threw her physique in to the nicely to cover-up the crime.
Two years in the past, Poothrikkayil, a type of initially accused, was acquitted by a particular CBI court docket. Nonetheless, discharge petitions of the opposite two – Kottoor and Sephy – have been rejected.
The incident was initially labelled as “loss of life by suicide” by police and Crime Department officers. Amid protests and petitions, the case was transferred to the CBI.
The central company’s first three last experiences have been rejected by the court docket that needed a extra thorough investigation.
The court docket pointed to varied discrepancies, together with the truth that canine didn’t bark that night time, the truth that the kitchen door was latched from exterior and that residents of the convent didn’t hear the sound of Sister Abhaya “falling” into the nicely.