Anticipatory bail pleas of 3 Kerala priests accused of rape rejected

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The Kerala high court on Wednesday rejected the anticipatory bail petitions of three priests of a church accused of raping a woman, ruling that the charges against them were serious and the relief, if granted at an early stage of investigation, will adversely affect its progress.

The priests - Abraham Varghese alias Sony, Job Mathew and Jaise K George - had approached the court soon after the crime branch slapped rape charges against four of the five Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church priests, who were accused of sexually exploiting the victim.

Dismissing their bail pleas, Justice R Vijayaraghavan of the Kochi bench of the court said allegations against them were serious and that their release at a time when the probe was at a preliminary stage would hamper its progress. Earlier, the court directed the police to produce before it the complaint of sexual harassment of the woman filed by her husband. In their bail pleas, the priests had rejected the woman's allegations.

'Bar rape-accused Bishop from fleeing'
The Kerala police have urged the DG of Civil Aviation to bar Bishop Fr Franco Mullackal, who has been accused of raping a nun, from leaving the country. The communication has been made after reports emerged that he is planning to flee India.

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