<![CDATA[Officials said that Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who had been accused of repeated rape and sexual assault by a nun, was grilled by Kerala Police for seven hours Wednesday and the questioning will continue Thursday. Deputy Superintendent of Police (SP) K Subhash, who heads the Special Investigation Team (SIT), questioned the 54-year-old clergyman at the crime branch office. Mulakkal had recently resigned as the Bishop of the Jalandhar diocese of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation. Sankar, who joined Subhash during the questioning, said the clergyman was cooperating with the investigation. Kottayam Superintendent of Police Hari Sankar said after the marathon questioning of the priest that the first phase of interrogation was over. He had been asked to be present on Thursday morning at 11 am for continued interrogation and he had agreed to it. Earlier in the day, Mulakkal, who moved the Kerala High Court for anticipatory bail on Tuesday, arrived at the office of the crime branch in a private car at 10.55 am, five minutes before his scheduled appearance. Citing convention, legal experts said the priest was unlikely to be arrested before 25 September when his anticipatory bail plea would come up for resumed hearing in the high court. However, there was no legal bar on his arrest. The nun had accused the senior Catholic priest of sexually assaulting her repeatedly between 2014 and 2016.]]>
