Finally the court has given its verdict in the Sister Abhaya murder case on Tuesday. The verdict given by the Thiruvananthapuram CBI special court comes 28 years after the incident. The trial of the case, which caused a great deal of controversy, lasted a year.
The mysterious death of the teenage nun, Sr Abhaya, had put several Christian churches in a tight spot, as the alleged incident took place in a convent. The church level intervention and attempt to save the accused and scuttle the investigation had led to many controversies.
Most of the allegations were against the Kottayam Bishop's House. Sister Abhaya, 19, was found dead on March 27, 1992, in a well in the Pious X Convent in Kottayam. She was a 2nd year pre-degree student in BCM College, and a nun at the St Joseph's Congregation at that time. The mysterious death of a nun led to a huge uproar which prompted the court to hand over the case to the CBI.
The convicted in the case Father Thomas M Kottur, who was at teaching psychology at BCM College at the time of incident
Although the CBI took over the case on March 23, 1993, after the local police and the crime branch ruled the case as a suicide, the CBI itself had sought the court's leave three times to close the probe due to lack of evidence. This was during the year 1996,1997 and 1998. However, the court rejected the plea and repeatedly directed the CBI to continue the probe.
The trial began on August 26, 2019. The CBI investigation later took a new turn in the case after revelations came about the destruction of the evidence by the police officers and the correction of Abhaya's internal examination report.
The discovery that Sister Sephy had undergone hymenoplasty surgery (artificial implantation of the hymen) to prove her virginity became crucial in the case. The surgery was based on the legal advice that Sephy could be discharged of the charges if it was established that she was a virgin.
Sister Abhaya, 19, was found dead on March 27, 1992, in a well in the Pious X Convent in Kottayam,Kerala
In 2018, the Thiruvananthapuram CBI court had made KT Michael, then a crime branch SP, as the fourth accused in the case for destroying evidence. He was later removed from the accused list after applying for bail in the high court.
Augustine, an ASI at Kottayam West station who had helped in destroying the evidence in the case later committed suicide after suffering from depression. It was the CBI who found out that he had destroyed crucial evidence.
The accused in the case were Father Thomas M Kottur, who was at that time teaching psychology at BCM College and Sister Sephy, who was a temporary in-charge at the Pious X Convent.
The CBI arrested Father Thomas Kottur, Sister Sephy, and Jose Puthrikayil on November 19, 2008. The CBI had found that Abhaya, who witnessed the accused in a compromising position, was beheaded with an axe and dumped in a well.
The second accused Fr. Jose Puthrikayil,whowas let off by the court last year after it found there was no evidence against him
Out of the total of 177 witnesses in the case, 49 were interrogated. The CBI had a great setback after almost ten prosecution witnesses turned hostile and changed their statements during the trial.
This included Sister Anupama who was staying in the room with Abhaya. Some others residing near the Pious X Convent had also changed their testimony.
Pious X Convent in Kottayam where Sister Abhaya found dead in a well on March 27, 1992
However, on the day of the incident, the statement of the thief Adaka Raju, who saw Fr. Thomas Kottur in a mysterious situation in the convent became a major turning point during the witness testimony.
Raju had arrived at the convent to attempt a robbery that day. However he changed his plan when he saw Fr. Thomas Kottur.
The third accused, Sister Sephy,was a temporary in-charge at the Pious X Convent,Kottayam at the time incident
Meanwhile, the second accused Fr. Jose Puthrikayil was let off by the court last year after it found there was no evidence against him. Varghese P. Thomas, the then CBI DySP, was the first to conclude that the case was a murder, which had earlier been dismissed by the local police and crime branch as suicide. He later retired after 10 years of service.
Sister Abhaya's father Arikkara Ikkarakunnal Thomas(Left) and mother Leelamma (Right)
Sister Abhaya's father Arikkara Ikkarakunnal Thomas and mother Leelamma are no longer alive. They had fought a series of legal battles to seek justice for their daughter. This was at the face strong threats from the Christian churches.
Thomas who later suffered a mental breakdown shifted his residence to Kuravilangattu. Thomas passed away on July 24th 2016 and Leelamma passed away on November 21 of the same year.