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A select list of stories to read before you start your day
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Jailing of killer priest, nun fuels crisis in India's Catholic Church
By Murali Krishnan in New Delhi - RFI LISTEN
AP - Anonymous
Bringing a dramatic end to a nearly three decade old case, a court in the southern Indian state of Kerala has convicted a Catholic priest and a nun of murdering a convent member. The ruling has contributed to a growing crisis in India's Catholic Church.
A special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a federal investigating agency, sentenced Father Thomas Kottoor and Sister Sephy to life in prison after finding them guilty of the murder of Sister Abhaya, who died 28 years ago in the town of Kottayam.
Jailing of killer priest, nun fuels crisis in India's Catholic Church philippinetimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from philippinetimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Balachandran Chullikkadu, poet
This Christmas, Kerala is celebrating a reformed thief who is being equated with God’s signature and who has emerged holier than some of the men who wear the cloth.
Raju, then a petty thief, faced a difficult choice 28 years ago.
If he testified against the suspects in the high-profile murder of a nun in a Kerala convent, he would have to incriminate himself by confessing he had been at the site to steal.
The choice he made in 1992 has now helped nail the priest and nun who killed Sister Abhaya and turned him into the toast of Kerala.
Abhaya murder case verdict a closure, but not justice
While it’s indeed a victory for those who fought hard and relentlessly to bring out the truth, the long delay is a sad reflection on the criminal justice system.
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CBI special court in Trivandrum finds Father Thomas Kottoor (L) and Sister Sephy (R) guilty in Sister Abhaya murder case.
The verdict in Kerala’s sensational Abhaya murder case is being hailed as a triumph of justice. It’s a fact that the case survived multiple botched investigations, some forceful cover-up attempts and serious legal challenges spanning courts at various levels to finally culminate in the conviction of a priest and a nun. But it also took 28 long years.
The evidence that nailed Sister Abhaya's killers 28 years later
On Tuesday, catholic priest Father Thomas Kottoor and nun Sister Sephy guilty were found guilty of murdering Sister Abhaya 28 years ago in the St Pius convent in Kerala's Kottayam.
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UPDATED: December 24, 2020 08:47 IST
Sister Abhaya was murdered in 1992 and the case has been going on for 28 years.
The 229-page judgment in the Sister Abhaya case has confirmed that the catholic nun was attacked with an "intention to kill".
On Tuesday, catholic priest Father Thomas Kottoor and nun Sister Sephy guilty were found guilty of murdering Sister Abhaya 28 years ago in the St Pius convent in Kerala's Kottayam.
Sister Abhaya. (File photo)
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CBI special court here, on Wednesday, awarded life sentence to Father Thomas Kottoor, and Sister Sephy, for the charges of murder of Sister Abhaya, 21, and subsequently destroying evidence.
On Tuesday, the CBI judge K Sanilkumar had found Father Thomas Kottoor, 71, guilty of charges of murder, destruction of evidence and criminal house trespass, and Sister Sephy, 57, guilty of murder and destruction of evidence.
Before delivering the sentence, the court heard the prosecution and the two convicts for one last time. The prosecution pleaded for capital punishment for the two convicts citing that it is perhaps the first time in history that a priest and nun were being convicted for the murder of another nun. The prosecutor also cited that the victim was a hapless novice, the accused were her superiors and they carried out systematic and comprehensive destruction of evidence.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CBI special court here, on Wednesday, awarded life sentence to Father Thomas Kottoor, and Sister Sephy, on charges of murder of Sister Abhaya, 21, in 1992 and subsequently destroying evidence.
On Tuesday, CBI judge K Sanilkumar had found Father Thomas Kottoor, 71, of Kottoor House, Kidangoor, Kottayam, guilty of charges of murder, destruction of evidence and criminal house trespass, and Sister Sephy, 57, of St Joseph Generalate, S H Mount, Kottayam, guilty of murder and destruction of evidence.
Before delivering the sentence, the court heard the prosecution and the two convicts for one last time. The prosecution pleaded for capital punishment for the two convicts citing that it is perhaps the first time in history that a priest and nun were being convicted for the murder of another nun. The prosecutor also cited that the victim was a hapless novice, the accused were her superiors and they carried out systematic and comprehensive destruction of evidence.
Karnataka govt imposes night curfew till Jan 2
It was on October 23, 2020 that a catholic priest and nun were punished with life imprisonment as they were held guilty of murdering sister Abhaya. The verdict came 28 years after committing the murder, and legal experts consider it a landmark case in the history of the Indian judiciary.
Sister AbhayaYouTube
Knanaya Catholic Church reacts to the verdict
On Tuesday, the court pronounced that Father Thomas Kottoor and Sister Sephy were held guilty of murder and destruction of the evidence. The priest who taught sister Abhaya psychology at BCM college Kottayam was also convicted of house trespassing during midnight.
A special CBI court in Kerala on Wednesday sentenced a Catholic priest and a nun who were found guilty of murdering Sister Abhaya, a teenaged nun, to life terms, ending a legal battle that dragged for close to three decades.
The court sentenced Father Thomas Kottoor, 73, to life in jail for murder and trespass to commit a punishable offence and another seven years for destroying evidence.
Sister Sephy, 57, was handed the life term for murder and another seven years in jail for destroying evidence.
Each of them was slapped with a penalty of Rs 5 lakh under IPC Section 302 (murder) and Rs 50,000 each under IPC Section 201 (destruction of evidence).