KOTTAYAM
: The trial in the
nun rape case
will begin in a court here on Wednesday. The accused
Bishop Franco Mulakkal
and the
survivor nun
in the case have been sent summons to appear before court. The trial in the case will start with the examination of witnesses.
The court will be hearing the survivor on Wednesday. The court has barred the media from covering the in-camera proceedings through an order. The court framed charges against Mulakkal last month. Additional district court 1 judge G Gopakumar had also read out the charges against Mulakkal. Mulakkal had denied the charges against him. The court had earlier given strict direction to Mulakkal to be present in court during trial of the case.
The charges against Franco are under IPC sections 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 376C (sexual intercourse by person in authority), 377 (unnatural sex), 506 (1) (punishment for
criminal intimidation
), 376(2) (k) (being in a position of control or dominance over a woman, commits rape on such woman), 376 (2) (n) (commits rape repeatedly on the same woman) and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty).
The chargesheet in the nun rape case was filed on April 9, 2019. Mulakkal, who faces charges of wrongful confinement, rape, unnatural sex and criminal intimidation in the case, can get
life imprisonment
or imprisonment of not less than 10 years, if proved guilty. The survivor in the case had filed a complaint with
the Kottayam Police
chief about the sexual abuse from 2014-16 on June 27, 2018. The next day, June 28 the statement of the survivor was recorded.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
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