Sister Abhaya, 21, was murdered and her body was dumped inside the well of a convent in Kottayam in 1992. Father Thomas Kottoor taught Sister Abhaya psychology at Kottayam's BCM College. Sister Sephy stayed in the same hostel as Sister Abhaya and was in-charge of the hostel. As per the CBI, Sister Abhaya was witness to intimate contacts between Kottoor, another Father, Jose Poothrikkayil, and Sephy on 27th March 1992 as she went from her hostel room to the kitchen at around 4.15 AM. Between 4:15 am and 5 am, they hit Sister Abhaya with a blunt object and threw her body into the well to cover-up the crime. The 3 were released on bail. The incident was initially labelled as death by suicide by police and Crime Branch officials. Amid protests and petitions, the case was transferred to the CBI. Charges against another priest, Jose Poothrikkayil, were dismissed in 2018 for lack of evidence.

A special CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on 22nd December held a Catholic priest Thomas Kottoor and a nun Sister Sephy guilty for the murder of Sister Abhaya and destruction of the evidence, 28 years ago. On 23rd December the court sentenced them to life imprisonment. A fine of Rs. five lakh each too was imposed on the priest and the nun. Separately, the two have also been sentenced to seven years in jail for destroying evidence. They have been taken into judicial custody on Tuesday 22nd December after the mandatory COVID-19 testing. Human rights activist Jomon Puthenpurackal, the lone surviving member of the panel that fought to pursue justice in the murder case, said, “Sister Abhaya's case has finally got justice. She will rest in peace. This is a classic example of how no one should think that just because they have power - money and muscle power - they can derail justice.” While Sister Abhaya's parents died a few years ago, her brother Biju Thomas, who is currently abroad, said on Tuesday he was happy with the verdict.

Tags

• Sister
• Nun
• Sephy
• Abhaya
• Father
• Thomas

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