'Fight Goes On,' Nuns Say as Kerala Court Acquits Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Rape

A nun in Kerala had accused the bishop of raping her 13 times over a period of two years.

Sister Anupama of a convent in Kuravilangad, Kottayam district, expressed her disappointment on the acquittal of Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the Catholic church, by a Kerala court, in a rape case. "There have been many ups and downs but we really don't know why he was acquitted," she told The Quint.

The rape survivor, a nun in sister Anupama's convent, had lodged a complaint against the bishop for raping her multiple times between 2014 and 2016. In 2018, five nuns of the convent, along with several human rights activists had staged a protest in Kochi, demanding the bishop's arrest.

Sister Anupama said, "We will continue to fight this case by appealing. We are with the survivor."