A Kerala court yesterday acquit Catholic priest Jose Poothrikkayil over the 1992 murder of Sister Abhaya.
The court, however, did not acquit two others – Thomas M Kottur, who is also a priest, and Seffi, a nun.
Their petitions were dismissed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court.
Sister Abhaya, a resident of Pius X convent in Kottayam, was found dead in the well of the convent on March 27, 1992.
Initially, both the Crime Branch and CBI termed the death a suicide but activist Joemon Puthenpurackal formed an Action Council and was pursuing the case.
The turnaround happened after Puthenpurackal got the case reopened following which the CBI cracked it.
On November 19, 2008, the CBI arrested Poothrikkayil, a former Malayalam professor at the Kottayam college where Abhaya studied; Kottor, the Diocesan chancellor of the Catholic Church at Kottayam, and Seffi, a resident of the convent where the incident took place.
On January 1, 2009, the three got bail.
Puthenpurackal, who was present in the court to hear the verdict said it CBI officials failed to do their job properly and managed to give an escape route to Poothrikkayil.
“The onus is now on the CBI to file a revision petition against this verdict. In case they fail to do it, I will be forced to take up that,” said Puthenpurackal.
On March 28, the court will read out the charge-sheet to the accused and the trial is expected to start soon.