Jalandhar, Sep 14: An inquiry commission formed by the Missionaries of Jesus has given a clean chit to Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the Jalandhar diocese in the case of rape of a nun. The inquiry commission said the nun who alleged rape conspired with others to defame Bishop Franco Mulakkal. The panel also denied the presence of the accused at Kuravilangad convent where the alleged rape incident happened.

"The victim along with four other nuns and five other people conspired against the Jalandhar Bishop. Victim's friend was handling visitors' register; they must have tampered with it. The victim took control of CCTV from Mother Superior," the commission said in its report. The panel was formed by the Missionaries of Jesus to probe the alleged "conspiracy to defame the missionary and the bishop."

"Jalandhar Bishop didn't stay in Kuravilangad convent on 5/5/2014 as claimed in rape complaint by the nun. On 23/5/2015, they can be seen at a function with the Bishop in a photo. All this points that there was no rape," the commission concluded. Earlier, the Missionaries of Jesus described the accused Bishop as an 'innocent soul' and called the rape allegations 'totally baseless'. It also condemned the protest by nuns in Kochi.

"We strongly condemn the protest in Kochi. We cannot crucify an innocent soul (Bishop) based on such allegations. The allegations are totally baseless. We doubt the nuns are forced into this protest by external influence," the statement released by the religious body read. On Thursday, the Kerala High Court expressed satisfaction on the ongoing probe and said: "arrest (of Bishop Franco Mulakkal) is not the issue".

A nun from Kerala has accused that she was raped by a 54-year-old priest on several occasions between 2014 and 2016. The nun has even appealed to the Vatican seeking justice. She also marked the plea to 21 other high ranking authorities of the Roman Catholic Church in India.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 14, 2018 12:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).