Allegations of rape and unnatural sex against a Roman Catholic Bishop by a nun in Kerala continued to haunt the church with a section of followers filing a petition against the head of Syro-Malabar Church for reportedly covering up the incident.
The petition was filed against Syro-Malabar Church head Cardinal George Alencherry for allegedly failing to act on a complaint by the victim two years ago.
In the petition to Ernakulam Range I G Vijay Sakhare, the church followers alleged that the nun had complained to the Cardinal about the ordeal she underwent at the hands of Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal, but he did not act on it.
A man named John Jacob, a representative of the followers who filed the complaint, said if the Cardinal had forwarded the complaint to police, such a situation would not have occurred.
There was no official reaction from the Syro-Malabar Church on the charges against the Cardinal, who is currently in the Vatican.
Kerala State Women's Commission chairperson