Kochi, Thursday, December 04, 2008: The Kerala High Court today deferred the hearing of the bail plea of Father Thomas M Kottoor and Sister Sepphy, two accused in the Sister Abhaya to 10th December.
Ernakulam chief Judicial Magistrate Court had yesterday dismissed the bail plea of Father Jose Putarikkayil.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the 1992 murder of Sister Abhaya, had yesterday informed that she was hacked to death with an axe by the two priests and a nun arrested in the case after she saw something that may have been unbefitting of them.
On Nov 19, the 13th team of the CBI set up to probe the case - after 12 earlier teams failed - arrested Father Jose Putarika, 56, a former Malayalam professor at a Kottayam college where Abhaya studied; Father Thomas Kottor, 61, the Diocesan chancellor of the Catholic Church at Kottayam; and Sister Seffi, who was a resident of the convent when the incident took place.
Abhaya, a resident of Pious X Hostel, was found dead in the well of the Kottayam convent March 27, 1992.
The three accused were produced before the court after their remand period ended Tuesday. The counsel also informed the court that the investigating agency did not need the custody of the three as the case was almost solved.
- By KOL News , Written on December 4, 2008
This should not be the end of the case.This is just the start. Now CBI SHOULD GO IN REVERSE & FIND OUT each & every body who were directly or indirectly involved in trying to divert / hamper this case for all this past 16 years. Check their financial assets holdings, of these responsible people, before taking up this case & after they backed out or misguided this case. The FIRST CULPRITS should DEFENEYLY BE 12 CBI chiefs from the last 12 teams who had investigated this case. All the highcourt judges who openly tried to divert this case.Postmosterm report writers,Politicians the list goes on. & in the end the fiancers, that is non other than the Kottayam Diocesan Bishops who by now must have dumped HUNDREDS of CRORES of rupees from their unaccounted funds. Catholics of kerala Pls. conduct a suprise night raids in all your nearby convents. & dont be shocked to find lot of Fr.Kottors & Sr. Steffi s in compromising positions. Lastly WHAT MUST HAVE BEEN THE AMOUNT, HOW MANY CRORES, THE CHURCH PAID TO THE CBI lately, TO NOT GIVE OUT THE OBVIOUS REPORT OF Sr. Seffis Verginity Test??????????????? ?
u say they are culprits but you dont have any proof of that. How can u accuse someone of doign something if you dont have proof of it. thats like me mysteriously telling the police that you did something and your were taken into custody. You have no say in anything, you cannot do anything but people are accusing you of tarnishing the evidence and that is why you should not be taken out. It’s not fair. they deserve a fair trial just like you or I would.
What more evidence you need since the case is on trial since 16 years? The CBI finally got all evidences from the mouth of the accused. This is the real evidence of any case. As you know, no one can influence anyone in these days by pressure. These three confessed the truth to CBI since they realised the case is in its climax stage and they can not escape any more. We should not blame our brave investigating team so badly which will only help to boost up such brutal incidence ahead. We should appreciate their constant efforts that has proven the hidden case though many have tried to erase the case forever. May God punish the accused in the right way soon!
No, the suspects are not guilty of murder, They may be guilty of some lesser crimes or wrongdoings. But there is no motive for a murder. The stories circulated in the press are more or less fairy stories. The press reports are not consistent. Had the three were accused and the Church had supported them, they could have very well avoided it. If they were the real culprits they would have taken steps to avert an arrest or custody immediately after the so called scientific / forensic tests. Had they no belief in such tests, they could have not told the truth on being interrogated against the results of the tests, as is claimed by CBI. I cannot even attribute 1 % probability for the truth of the stories circulated. Better believe those who are knowing the accused rather than allow them to be vandalized by circumstances. Our problem is that we donot remember the older story when we hear a new one. Let those who find the accused guilty on the basis of the new press reports ( who themselves claim to be harichandras ) read the older news papers and try to reconcile. See how we are fooled.
I am very sure that these two priests and this sister is not capable of commiting this crime. Adacka Raju or that Sanju Mathew and his friend must have killed sister Abhaya.These three persons are wrongly accused of murder.CBI is trying to ruin catholic community.I personally feel that this is an attack towards christians. Adacka Raju was in the convent on that night. He is a thief. How can this so called CBI take his words for granted.What kind of CBI we have in India.This is called prejudice against christians.Killers are out somewhere enjoying.CBI already planned to get these two priests and sister and that is what happened here.CBI does not want to go ahead with any further investigations.CBI may find few more thieves to testify against these so called culprits.This is not fair.People whom read old news papers can see that CBI got the wrong persons.They are punishing the innocents.
If the accused priests and nun’s actions are proved, it will eventually reveal immoral traffic and other un-holy revelations behind the masks of the church. Having come this far it is difficult to believe that the accused had nothing to do with this ghastly murder.
Ranjit Abraham:”having come this far”? That is your reasoning? These 3 accused have VOLUNTARILY cooperated with investigators for 16years. If you committed such a horrific crime, would you be so bold as to trust your fellow criminals to lie as well as you for the rest of your life? CBI has changed teams how many times in the last 16years? 12 times?! For what? Do they admit to having 12 incompetent teams and finally one that takes the same LACK of EVIDENCE, and make up lies to fit their story? All this foolishness about “unseen hands” is just vaporous nonsense to make the judges/CBI feel righteous. There should be dozens of people available as witnesses at the time of the crime. If you had a doctorate in Psychology, as Fr Kottoor does, and could travel the world justifiably with your job, as Fr Kottoor has since the crime, and you committed such a crime, why wouldn’t you live far far away from the place of the crime?
MY SIMPLE QUESTIONS
1) why were the church silent for past 16 years,
there were no protest,no pressure from the church side to investigate this case.Rather then to cover up the case as suiside. & FALSELY SPREAD the news saying Sr. Abaya was of unsound mind.
2) Who formed the action commitee,are there any single Prist or Nun in this commitee????
3) When Nuns are raped in NORTH INDIA,the catholic church in kerala shuts down their institutions all over Kerala as a protest, to show their love /affection towards nuns.& anger towards the Government. Now why was no such action demonstrated when Sr Abaya was raped & Brutally murdered right in our backyard, in our state. WHY….. Only because our own Prist & Nuns were involved ? Is n it obvious. If you say Adack Raju OR Sanju Mathew are the culprits, then my question, what is their assets, how many CRORES? How can they afford to bribe all responsible officials for 16 years?
poor chaps, must be struggling for their daily bread.
It looks like our mighty catholic Church is being black mailed by this 2 Prist & a Nun ,or else all this GODLY Mafia operating in the name of Christainity will be exposed completly. 90%+ of priest & nuns in Kerala will be affected.
I am a Catholic too, but I want Justic, no matter who they are. CRIME IS A CRIME.
Its understood all the reply supporting the Clergy ,comes from Prist & Nuns. Thinking that e we followers are all fools. Wake up Catholics. Most of These prist & Nuns are only accumulating wealth from us. Tell me how many Catholics or any say poor students are given admissions in their Proffesional/edcuational institutions, without donations? NONE….. If you have not expirenced this, then try once.
It is joke to tell that the clergy is amassing wealth. Had the priests and nuns were given their due share in their ancestral property the Church could have been richer. Do justice to priests and nuns at least in words. Be kind to them. TO stand testimony to the Gospel is very difficult in the modern world. The problem is not with the priest or nuns but the interface between the modernity and the faith is very difficult. The liaity should support the religious in their endeavours to live the Gospel of our Lord. If they fail do not be merciless. How many unnatural deaths have happened amongst the liaity. Whether there was any clamour for space goats. Please remember that Our lord is love and compassion. We should do justice to the family of the deceased, but we should also respect the humanity of the suspected, the witnesses and all.
And Searen you say “why wouldn’t you live far far away from the place of the crime?”
In actuality, we all know Fr. Kottoor left India to work in New York..the same year as this murder. Yes, i said murder, not suicide. And he was in America working for nearly 10 years before he returned to India. Immediately when this case was brought back in the limelight, he attempted to fly back to America but the police stopped him and took his passport. We are all aware of these facts and we are all not foolish.
So Searen, your argument ironically helps the case against Fr. Kottoor. Again, get the facts first and not blindly listen to the fairy tales of those that only wish he was innocent. But you have every right to have your own opinion. This is just some advice on my part.
CBI. What happened to Sr: Abhaya? How come her
body was was found in the convent well?
Sr:S Jesus has punished her for some crime. She
may have seen a sin being committed and did
not report this to her Superior. She may
even have abetted the sin by participating
in it and the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus
came as if like a bolt of lightning and
struck her from behind. Amen. RIP at the
bottom of the convent well!
sathomas, please get your facts right. he was in america for 7 years. the CBI team of ‘99 had cleared fr thomas completely.
—Brit, I said “nearly 10 years.” The point I’m trying to make is the fact that he left immediately when he was being suspected and stayed in American for years!!!
—In that case, I think it’s very interesting that you just told me 7 years! So, since the CBI of ‘99 cleared Fr. Kottoor, then immediately he went back to Kerala. Seven years later. Why? Because the ‘coast is clear’? Hmm, what a relief it must’ve been to finally be able to head back to Kerala when the heads are turned around. And the pathetic fool tried to leave again in 2007 when the case was reopened upon the discovery of the forensic lab report tamperings…
Surely, the catholic church has involved in covering up the case so far. The political environment at the centre and state has turned in their disfavour culminating in the arrests. Most of the catholic church followers acknoledge the involement of the culprits in the crime; but only those few who are the minions of the Kottayam bishop and the unholy priests and those “mutualistic” people who benefit from unholy alliance with the church for instance getting job as teacher in diocesan colleges and schools will only support the release of these three arrested foxes masquered as innocent sheep under the holy tunic. LET TRUTH PREVAIL AND JUSTICE FLOW LIKE A MIGHTY OCEAN………