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India
oi-Vicky Nanjappa
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 22: A CBI court here is set to deliver its verdict in the Sister Abhaya case. The verdict is expected at 11 am today.
The case goes back to March 1992 when Sister Abhaya, a Catholic nun, was found dead in a water well of her convent in Kottayam. The CBI submitted that the Abhaya case is one of the oldest criminal pending cases in the state and the spread of COVID cannot be projected as a reason for further delaying disposal of the case.
Among the accused is Father Thomas Kottoor, who was a Vicar and taught Sister Abhaya psychology at the BCM College in Kottayam. He was arrested in 2008. He was also the Secretary to the then Bishop and later went on to become Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese in Kottayam.
Fr Jose Poothrukayil no longer an accused in Sister Abhaya death case
Sister Sephy is another accused in the case and was staying with Sister Abhaya in the same hostel. She was also the de-factor in-charge of the hostel. The CBI said that Sister Abhaya was witness to intimate contacts between Kottoor, Father Jose Jose Poothrikkayil, and Sephy on March 27, 1992.
The CBI said that Sister Abhaya went to the kitchen at around 4.15 am. The accused hit her with a blunt object and to cover up the crime, threw her into a well. The police and crime branch had initially labelled the death as a suicide.
Poothrikkayil, one of those initially accused, was acquitted by a CBI special court in 2018, but the discharge applications of Kottoor and Sephy were rejected.
The case was later handed over to the CBI. In November 2008, all the accused were arrested by the CBI.
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