John Grisham should be booking a ticket to India. Sixteen years after the body of Sister Abhaya was found in the well at the St. Pius convent in Kottayam, India, two priests and a nun have been arrested for murder. Father Thomas Kottor, Father Joes Phthrukayil and Sister Abey are being held on charges in the death of the 21-year-old sister. A court ordered the investigation re-opened after concluding that a “hidden hand” was a work to hide the truth in the case.
The murder was originally investigated by a local priest who found no evidence to prove murder and the local crime investigators ruled that Sister Abhaya had committed suicide despite the fact that suicide by well is hardly a common method for terminating one’s life.
On September 4, 2008, the Kerala High Court issued an order that referred to evidence that a “hidden hand” was a work in the case to “jettison” the investigation. It directed the Delhi unit to transfer the investigation to another city’s office.
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Rafflaw:
That is certainly a good question. The clear indication is that it was someone protecting the church or the priests but the court did not identify or describe the hidden hand.
JT
Quite a weird story. The news report didn’t tell the reader who this “hidden hand” was that was steering the case in the wrong direction. Are they trying to say that someone in the church was controlling the outcome? It is a sad result, but at least it looks like they finally found the parties allegedly responsible for the brutal murder.