If the Church and authorities would have let the culprits get duly punished, perhaps my generation and the coming generation would not have come to know about what Sr. Abhaya case was, which has been defaming and haunting the Catholic Church for the past 25 years and still counting.
Beena Thomas, born in 1973 in Kottayam became a Catholic Nun and received the name Sr. Abhaya. Her body was found in the compound well in St. Pius X Convent in Kottayam on March 27, 1992. She was only 19 years old at the time. Investigation of the mysterious death, or rather the well planned murder of Sr. Abhaya has been by far the longest murder investigation case in the history of Kerala.
Any case in its normal course would have been legally settled in a couple of years, even considering the prolonged legal proceedings in our country. It is generally believed that any case where people with money power and muscle power are involved, would not get settled legally. The 25-year long delay points out to the fact that there is a serious involvement of higher authority from Church and politicians and there have been vested interests as well.
Two priests - Thomas Kottur, Jose Puthurukkayil, and a nun - Sister Sephy - were arrested by the Crime Branch on 19 November 2008, after a decade of forged investigations carried out by the local police, Crime Branch, and CBI. According to prosecution, the two priests and the nun were seen in a "compromising position" by Sr. Abhaya and had subsequently been attacked by them with an axe and dumped in the well.
The Crime Branch, which investigated the case concluded that Abhaya had committed suicide. It is strongly believed that some investigation officers, as directed by influential Christian political leaders from Central Kerala wanted to sabotage the case investigation conducted by the local police and Crime Branch and wanted it to be referred as a case of suicide. Otherwise, we can't believe that Kerala Police, Crime Branch and CBI having a good track record of proving the case are so incapable in this case that they couldn't find the culprit. The court also had the strong view that culprits could have easily been apprehended had there been an honest and proper investigation.
There have been foul plays and deaths occurring during the investigation of this case. V.V. Augustine, Assistant Sub Inspector who prepared the First Information Report during the initial stage of investigation, was found dead on 25 November 2008. Michael, who was part of the preliminary police investigation, was charged for allegedly destroying the victim's robe and diary.
The High Court was informed by the CBI that there has been a substantial degree of care taken by the accused to hide the crime, including a hymen-restoration procedure which Sr. Sephy allegedly underwent in a hospital run by the Church. This was discovered through gynecological tests conducted on her in the late 2008. This was strongly challenged by the accused.
The counsel for the accused dared CBI to prove that such an operation has ever been conducted in India. Moreover, the building where the crime took place was renovated under the guise of restoration work to allegedly deface the scene, leaving no possibility for further investigation after '25 years' of investigation.
Being a Christian, i would not be shocked if Frs. Thomas Kottur, Jose Puthurukkayil and Sister Sephy are legally pronounced to be guilty.
Let the innocent Soul of Sr. Abhaya rest in peace. God in His Court would have granted her justice.
Image Courtesy: Google Image
No comments:
Post a Comment