Abhaya case: 2 accused of tampering records let go

Thiruvananthapuram Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Friday acquitted two lab technicians accused of tampering with the records related to the death of Sister Abhaya in 1992.

Former state Chief Chemical Examiner R Geetha and analyst M Chithra were accused of having altered entries made in a register that recorded chemical examination conducted on the nun’s internal organs.

According to the complainant and human rights activist Jomon Puthanpurackel, the accused had tampered with the register in an effort to cover up rape.  Sister Abhaya’s body was found in the well of a convent in Kottayam in 1992.

The Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory had later confirmed that the work register was “corrected”, while the accused maintained that they were authorised to alter preliminary findings after the completion of the analysis. The three accused in the Sister Abhaya death case – two priests and a nun; Fr Thomas Kottur, Fr Jose Poothrukayil and Sister Sephi – were arrested in 2008 and granted bail in 2009.