Thiruvananthapuram: A CBI special court here Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to a catholic priest and a nun. Both of them were found guilty of the murder of Sister Abhaya 28 years ago in Kottayam. Special CBI Judge K Sanal Kumar awarded double life sentence to Father Thomas Kottoor. He also imposed a fine of Rs 6.5 lakh. The other accused in the case, Sister Sephy, was sentenced for life. A fine of Rs 5.5 lakh was slapped on her. It was also said that the catholic priest and the nun were in a relationship.
The court had Tuesday found the two guilty of the murder of Sister Abhaya. She was found dead in a well in St Pius convent in Kottayam in 1992. The court also sentenced the duo to seven years of imprisonment for tampering with evidence. However, the sentences shall run concurrently, the court said.
Father Kottoor has been sentenced for double life imprisonment for two offences. They are murder and criminal trespass under sections 302 and 449 of IPC respectively. Sister Sephy has been imprisoned for life under section 302 of IPC.
The accused, who were on bail, were taken into judicial custody Wednesday after the mandatory COVID-19 testing. Police had shifted Father Kottoor to Poojapura central jail and Sister Sephy to Attakulangara women’s prison here.
Abhaya(21), a second year student of the BCM college, Kottayam, was staying at St Pius convent.
Another accused in the case, Fr Jose Puthrikkayil, was discharged earlier following lack of evidence.
Initially, the case was investigated by the local police and Kerala Crime Branch. They concluded that Abhaya had committed suicide.
The CBI, took over probe March 29, 1993. It also filed three closure reports saying though it was a case of murder, the culprits could not be traced.
However, September 4, 2008, the Kerala High Court came down heavily on CBI over the handling of the Sister Abhaya murder case. It said the agency was ‘still a prisoner of those who wield political and bureaucratic power’. It directed that the probe be handed over by the Delhi unit to its Kochi counterpart.
Subsequently, the central agency in 2008 arrested two priests – Father Thomas Kottoor and Father Jose Poothrikkayil. The CBI also arrested Sister Sephy on the charge of murder.
According to prosecution, Kottoor and Poothrikkayil were allegedly having an illicit relationship with Sephy. She was also an inmate of the St Pious convent.
Abhaya allegedly saw Kottoor and Sephy in a compromising position, March 27, 1992. Then the accused hacked her with an axe and threw her into the well, the CBI said in its chargesheet.
The accused were arrested in 2008 and released on bail by the Kerala High Court a year later.