Special CBI court holds priest, nun guilty in Sister Abhaya murder case

A special CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday convicted two accused persons -- a priest and a nun -- in connection with the Sister Abhaya murder case.

The quantum of punishment for the two convicts -- father Thomas Kottoor and Sister Sephy will be pronounced on Wednesday.

The body of the 19-year-old Catholic nun -- Sister Abhaya -- was found in a well inside the St Pius X convent in the Kottayam district of Kerala on March 27, 1992.

In 2008, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had recorded the arrests of two Catholic priests father Thomas Kottoor and father Jose Puthrukkayil, and a nun Sr Sephy.

While father Kottoor and Sister Sephy were chargesheeted by the CBI on various charges including murder, destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy, father Puthrukkayil was let off by a trial court in 2018 for lack of evidence.

The case was transferred to the CBI in 1993 after human rights activist Jomon Puthenpurackal filed a case. The case was earlier being investigated by local police and crime branch.

Notably, several witnesses had turned hostile in the case.

( With inputs from ANI )