KOCHI: Statements of former thief 'Adakka' Raju, nearby resident Sanju P Mathew and inmates of Pius X Convent proved crucial in convicting first accused Fr Thomas Kottoor and third accused Sr Sephy in the Sr Abhaya murder case.
The CBI relied heavily on their statements for proving the involvement of the accused. Adakka Raju is the prime witness in this case. He had gone to the CBI office on his own after the photographs of the arrested accused were published in newspapers.
Adakka Raju had deposed that he had gone to the convent with an intention to steal copper plate connected to the lightning arrester installed on the terrace. He sat on a cocoa tree waiting to scale the wall. At that time, he saw two persons climbing the staircase on the rear side. He could see the face of one person.
Two weeks after the death of Sr Abhaya, he was arrested by the Crime Branch and the officers tried to make him to own up the murder promising money. He told the CBI officers that he had seen the two persons in the convent two weeks before his arrest. He identified that one among them was the first accused, Fr Kottoor.
Another crucial witness is Sanju P Mathew who resides in a house adjacent to the convent. Nuns of the convent used to seek his father’s assistance for every need. According to him, he had heard that Fr Kottoor and Sr Sephy had an unholy relationship.
On March 26, 1992, he was studying for the examination late in the night. At 11.30pm, he went to the nearby shop to have tea. While returning around 11:45pm, he saw Fr Kottoor’s scooter parked near the convent. He had seen the same scooter parked there on earlier occasions also.
He thought that there must be some feast in the convent and Fr Kottoor might have come to attend it. The next morning, sisters of the convent came to his house and informed the family that Sr Abhaya had gone missing and sought his father’s help, he added.
The deposition of inmates of the convent helped the prosecution to prove the charges. Inmates Sheeja Kumar and Preetha deposed that Sr Sephy had an illicit relationship with two priests. According to them, the two priests used to come to the convent every week and also on special occasions.
The CBI also cited other pieces of the evidence found in the convent’s kitchen on the day Abhaya died. A bottle was seen lying on the floor with dripping water near the refrigerator, a veil was found underneath the exit door which was found locked from outside, an axe and a basket, and each of Sr Abhaya's pair of slippers at different places in the kitchen, all of which showed that there was a tussle inside the kitchen. The CBI report stated that these were sufficient to conclude that the young nun’s death was a case of homicide.
A shameful incident, says Soosai Pakiam
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Reacting to the verdict, M Soosai Pakiam, Latin Archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram, said the actions of a few members have brought shame to the entire Church. “The Church cannot evade from the development.
Committing a mistake is human; we shall move forward by making corrections,” he said. According to him, it is still difficult to believe that the two had committed the crime. If they had not done it, the Church’s fight for justice must continue, but if they had committed it, they should face punishment, he said.
Church mum on verdict
Though the Special CBI court’s verdict in Sr Abhaya case was hailed by all, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church remained mum. According to the Church authorities, they will comment only after going through the judgment, the copy of which it hopes to receive on Wednesday. "It is a sensitive issue and any statement made without proper analysis might get misconstrued," said a Church official.