A group of Catholic nuns has staged a street protest in Kerala demanding justice after an alleged sexual assault of a nun by a bishop.
Police have called Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who has been accused of raping a nun on 13 different occasions between 2014 and 2016, for a second round of questioning next week.
"Mulakkal has been sent a notice to appear before the investigation team on September 19. He will be questioned by a team led by Vaikkom Dy SP K Subhash," said Vijay Sakhare, Ernakulam Range IG.
Mulakkal has denied wrongdoing, and says the nun is retaliating against him for investigating a complaint she had an affair with a married man.
The nun in a letter said she wanted Pope Francis, the Catholic Church head, to intervene. She said she was forced to bring the matter to the public after several attempts to seek justice from within the church failed.
The protest is in its sixth day in Kochi.
Bishop Agnelo Gracias from Archdiocese of Bombay said, "The Law of the land is supreme. It will take its course. We will have to wait and see."
Dolphy D'SOuza, another member of the Church said, "I do not know the procedures of the removal of a Bishop but Bishop Mulakkal should have stepped down on his own."
