Vatican likely to intervene; Bishop Franco Mulakkal steps down

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The nun who alleged rape by the Bishop had recently sought urgent intervention of the Vatican for justice and demanded the bishop’s removal as head of the Jalandhar diocese.

Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused in the Kerala nun rape case, has recused himself from bishopship. It is believed he has stepped down temporarily in the wake of the ongoing investigation into the rape charges against him.

In a letter, the bishop said, “I am likely to be called for further clarifications by investigating officer in Kerala, appoint Rv, Fr Joseph Thekkumkattil & Rev Fr Subin Thekkedathu.”

Meanwhile, according to ANI, the issue of the Kerala nun rape case was raised in the Vatican on Saturday and it is expected to intervene in the matter soon.

The nun who alleged rape by the Bishop had recently sought urgent intervention of the Vatican for justice and demanded the bishop’s removal as head of the Jalandhar diocese.

The development comes a day after a Jalandhar church, which claims to have conducted an internal investigation in the alleged rape case, came out in support of the bishop saying Bishop Franco Mulakkal was innocent.

The Missionaries of Jesus of Jalandhar had said the nun, who accused the bishop of raping her on multiple occasions, had conspired against him.

“The nun who has complained against the bishop has conspired in connivance with nine others, including five nuns, against the bishop,” the church body said in a statement.

The church added that the nuns had been influenced by some other people to do this.

A Kerala nun has accused Mulakkal of repeatedly sexually abusing her between 2014 and 2016. There are five other nuns of the same congregation who have supported her claim.

An FIR was registered against the bishop and a 114-page detailed statement was taken from the nun and other inmates of the convent.

CBI dismissed the charges Rahul Made against its officer

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At the time the case against Mr. Nirav Modi and Mr. Mehul Choksi was instituted, A.K.Sharma was not the supervisory officer, it says

The CBI on Saturday dismissed the allegations made against it by Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s in the Vijay Mallya case as baseless.

“As has been stated a number of times earlier, the decision to change the Look-out Circular (LoC) against Vijay Mallya was taken because at the time there was not sufficient grounds for the CBI to detain and arrest him,” said the CBI in response to media queries.

Through his Twitter handle, Mr. Gandhi had accused the CBI of having quietly aided Mr. Mallya’s escape by downgrading the LoC against him. He also held the then Joint Director, A.K. Sharma, a Gujarat cadre official, responsible for the change in LoC.

The CBI, in response, said the decision was taken at the appropriate level as part of the process and not individually by the officer as alleged.

The CBI said that it received complaint against diamond merchants Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi from the Punjab National Bank almost a month after they left the country.

“Therefore, the question of any CBI officer having any hand in their fleeing the country does not arise. Prompt action was taken by the CBI in the case after the complaint was received from the bank,” the premier investigating agency said.

At the time the case against Mr. Nirav Modi and Mr. Mehul Choksi was instituted, Mr. Sharma was not the supervisory officer.

‘Swachhata Hi Seva Movement’ launched by PM

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in a Swachh Bharat Abhiyan at a school in New Delhi on Saturday where he spoke to students about the need for cleanliness of the surroundings.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ‘Swachhata Hi Seva Movement’ and took part in a Swachh Bharat Abhiyan at a school in New Delhi on Saturday where he spoke to students about the need for cleanliness of the surroundings.

Speaking to students of Baba Saheb Ambedkar Higher Secondary School located in Delhi’s Paharganj, the PM highlighted the achievements of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which was launched on 2 October 2014.

At the school, the students enthusiastically told the PM that they will follow the path of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar.

“Let us strengthen the Swachh Bharat Mission,” the PM wrote on Twitter, adding, “Joined the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva Movement’ at the Baba Sahib Ambedkar Secondary School in Paharganj, Delhi. This school’s campus was bought by the venerable Dr. Ambedkar to ensure children from poor families get quality education.”

The PM also took the broom to sweep the premises. He collected the trash strewn around the premises and disposed them off in a proper manner.

Launching the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva Movement’ today, the PM hailed the immense contribution of India’s ‘Nari Shakti’ (women power) in the Swachh Bharat Mission.

“The contribution of India’s Nari Shakti (women power) in the Swachh Bharat (clean India) Mission is immense,” Modi said while launching the movement dedicated as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

“Youngsters are ambassadors of social change. The way they have furthered the message of cleanliness is commendable. The youth are at the forefront of a positive change in India,” Modi said.

Highlighting the success of the clean India mission, Modi said, “The Swachhta coverage is now above 90 per cent which used to be 40 per cent four years ago. This happened in just four years.

“The credit for the success of Swachhata Abhiyan goes to the people of this nation and not the government alone,” he said, adding that over nine crore toilets have been built in last four years and over 4.5 lakh villages have been declared as open defecation free.

Modi also stressed that by only building toilets India won’t become clean.

“Cleanliness is a habit in which one has to indulge himself everyday and change in behaviour is also required,” he said.

The PM also described river Ganga as our “culture, heritage and identity” and urged people to contribute towards cleaning it.

“And banks of River Ganga becoming open defecation free shall be an important stage towards maintaining the purity of the river,” Modi said.

JNUSU election 2018: Counting stopped after attempt of ballot capture

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The counting has been stopped indefinitely and a meeting of Grievance Redressal Committee has been called fot further action.

Counting of votes for the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) polls was stopped on Saturday when two principal contenders of an unnamed political group along with their supporters barged into a counting centre and tried to snatch ballot boxes, the varsity election committee said.

The counting of votes for the annual students’ elections began on Friday night at 10 p.m. after the polling concluded at 5.30 p.m.

“JNUSU EC 2018-19 hereby brings to the immediate notice that the counting process has been suspended due to forcible entry into the counting venue and attempting to snatch sealed ballot boxes as well as ballot papers.

“This was in addition to intimidation and violence on our Election Committee, including on our female members led by a presidential and a joint secretary candidate,” the committee said in a statement.

At around 4 a.m., vandals broke the window panes of the counting centre and injured a few students who tried to resist the attempt.

The counting has been stopped indefinitely and a meeting of Grievance Redressal Committee has been called for further action.