Even as bishop Franco Mulakkal, who faces allegations of raping a nun, received a rousing welcome from his supporters when he reached Jalandhar after being released on bail by a Kerala court, the brother of the nun expressed his dissatisfaction over the accused being granted bail.
"I am shocked to hear that he got bail. He is a rape accused. Police found all the evidence against him. Had he been innocent, there would not have been so many evidence against him," he told the news agency ANI.
He said the accused bishop does not feel any sort of remorse for his crimes. "He (bishop Franco) is trying to show that he is innocent, but the truth is in everyone's mind. He is not a religious person, he is not even a decent person," he said, adding that Franco Mulakkal does not deserve to be a bishop.
He further said he was surprised by the welcome that a rape accused person was given. "The court granted him bail, and I respect the decision. That doesn't mean that he is innocent. I am saddened to see the grand welcome he received after being released. Being a religious figure, he should be ashamed of himself. He seems to be unapologetic," he told the news agency.
Accepting the grant welcome accorded to him, Mulakkal was all smiles as his followers showered rose petals on him. Till a few weeks ago, he held charge as the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese.
He was granted conditional bail by the Kerala High Court on Monday, and released from a jail near Kottayam a day later.
While granting bail, the court had directed him to surrender his passport and not to enter home state Kerala except for appearing before the probe officer once in two weeks.
In her complaint to the Kottayam Police in June, the nun had alleged that Bishop Mulakkal raped her at a guest house in May 2014 and later sexually exploited her on several occasions.
(with inputs from agencies)
