SISTER ABHAYA CASE

Rape and Murder of Nun - Court flays CBI

Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate PD Sharangadharan criticised the CBI on Wednesday for not taking the court's instructions seriously in the Sister Abhaya murder case.

The court granted the investigating agency time till May 7 to file its report on the progress in the case.

The court had asked CBI to file its report on Wednesday after declining to grant one month's time sought by the investigating agency to file a report concerning the steps taken by it on the basis of an anonymous letter forwarded to them by the magistrate.

The letter contained the allegation that some crucial evidence in the chief chemical examiner's workbook concerning Sister Abhaya had allegedly been tampered with in the workbook.

When the case came up before the court, the CBI sought a week's time as the investigating officer was away. The magistrate told the CBI counsel that this was "delaying tactics" on the part of the agency and the court's order in the matter was "totally ignored".

The Magistrate said that he had received the anonymous letter and had personally handed over to CBI officials on November 29 last year and had directed them to investigate the matter.

Only when some reports appeared in the media on the chief examiner's report allegedly being tampered with the CBI filed a petition before the Chief Judicial Magistrate court, Thiruvanathapuram seeking to call for records relating to the alterations.

The start of the sensational case relating to the murder of Sr Abhaya, a nun at the St Pius X Convent in Kottayam, was on March 27, 1992 after her body was found in the well of the convent. The local police who first probed the death concluded that Sr Abhaya had committed suicide. After this the Crime Branch of Kerala Police and the CBI investigated the case. The CBI, which found that the nun was murdered, however, concluded the probe citing lack of evidences. But the Kerala High Court ordered reinvestigation of the case. Source: www.haindavakeralam.org