Twenty-eight years after the mysterious death of a young nun in a convent at Kottayam district in Kerala, a CBI special court is expected to pronounce judgment in the case on December 22.
Nineteen-year-old Sister Abhaya was found dead in the well of the Pius X convent in Kottayam on March 27, 1992. First accused Father Thomas M Kottoor and third accused Sister Sephy are now facing trial at the CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram. Sister Abhaya was allegedly murdered after she witnessed the illicit affair of the accused. The second accused, Father Jose Poothrikkayil, was discharged earlier and the CBI would be filing an appeal against it.
CBI special judge K Sanal Kumar on Thursday posted the case for pronouncing the judgment on December 22.
So far, many investigation teams of the Kerala Police and the CBI have probed the case and have concluded that it was a case of suicide. The latest probe was initiated about 15 years ago following allegations of tampering with forensic test results of the case.
The Catholic priests and nun were even subjected to narco-analysis tests to unearth the facts and were arrested in November 2008. The CBI had filed a chargesheet on July 17, 2009, mainly on the basis of scientific evidence like the narco-analysis tests.
The CBI's finding was that Abhaya happened to witness the accused in a compromising position during the wee hours of the day she was found dead. Subsequently, an axe was used to murder her and the body was dumped in the well of the convent.
A total of 49 witnesses were examined but during the course of the trial, many of them turned hostile. One of the witnesses even openly admitted the torture she faced for giving a statement against the accused. The accused also approached higher courts seeking discharge. But only the second accused, Poothrikkayil, was discharged in 2018 on the grounds that the CBI failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove his presence at the convent on the day of Abhaya’s death.
The charges against the accused include IPC 302 for murder and IPC 201 for destroying evidence. Human rights activist Jomon Puthenpurackal has been pursuing the case relentlessly.
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