NEW DELHI/KOCHI: Indian police are investigating the death of a witness in a case involving the alleged rape of a nun by a Roman Catholic bishop, after the body of the witness, a priest who had given a statement to police against the bishop, was found on Monday.
The death comes as India’s Christian community is reeling from a string of cases — including the arrests of five priests in August on allegations of sexual assault.
Police said the body of Kuriakose Kattuthara, a Catholic priest who police said had spoken to them about Bishop Franco Mulakkal, was found in his room in a church in the northern state of Punjab.
“There were no blood marks on his body, and we are investigating the cause of death,” said Achhru Ram, a senior Punjab state police official in the Dasuya region.
Mulakkal, bishop of the Diocese of Jalandhar in Punjab, was arrested in the southern state of Kerala last month on charges of raping the nun.
The Kerala nun had accused him of raping her repeatedly over a period of two years. Just before his arrest, the Vatican had accepted a request from the bishop to be temporarily relieved of his pastoral duties.
He is now on bail.
Neither Mulakkal nor his lawyers have made any public comment since his arrest though he has denied the charges in media interviews in the past.
He did not immediately respond to email requests seeking comment on Monday.
The diocese of Jalandhar said in a statement on its web site that Mulakkal had expressed sadness over “the sudden demise” of Kattuthara.
Kerala police had said earlier that Kattuthara was a prosecution witness who had given them a statement.
Outside India, the Catholic Church is facing sexual abuse scandals in the United States, Chile, Australia, Germany and other countries.
Indian police investigate death of key witness in nun rape case
Indian police investigate death of key witness in nun rape case
- The Kerala nun had accused him of raping her repeatedly over a period of two years
Modi ally proposes social media ban for India’s teens as global debate grows
- India is the world’s second-biggest smartphone market with 750 million devices and a billion Internet users
- South Asian nation is a key growth market for social media apps and does not set a minimum age for access
NEW DELHI: An ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a bill to ban social media for children, as the world’s biggest market for Meta and YouTube joins a global debate on the impact of social media on young people’s health and safety.
“Not only are our children becoming addicted to social media, but India is also one of the world’s largest producers of data for foreign platforms,” lawmaker L.S.K. Devarayalu said on Friday.
“Based on this data, these companies are creating advanced AI systems, effectively turning Indian users into unpaid data providers, while the strategic and economic benefits are reaped elsewhere,” he said.
Australia last month became the first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking access in a move welcomed by many parents and child advocates but criticized by major technology companies and free-speech advocates. France’s National Assembly this week backed legislation to ban children under 15 from social media, while Britain, Denmark and Greece are studying the issue.
Facebook operator Meta, YouTube-parent Alphabet and X did not respond on Saturday to emails seeking comment on the Indian legislation. Meta has said it backs laws for parental oversight but that “governments considering bans should be careful not to push teens toward less safe, unregulated sites.”
India’s IT ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
India, the world’s second-biggest smartphone market with 750 million devices and a billion Internet users, is a key growth market for social media apps and does not set a minimum age for access.
Devarayalu’s 15-page Social Media (Age Restrictions and Online Safety) Bill, which is not public but was seen by Reuters, says no one under 16 “shall be permitted to create, maintain, or hold” a social media account and those found to have one should have them disabled.
“We are asking that the entire onus of ensuring users’ age be placed on the social media platforms,” Devarayalu said.
The government’s chief economic adviser attracted attention on Thursday by saying India should draft policies on age-based access limits to tackle “digital addiction.”
Devarayalu’s legislation is a private member’s bill — not proposed to parliament by a federal minister — but such bills often trigger debates in parliament and influence lawmaking.
He is from the Telugu Desam Party, which governs the southern state Andhra Pradesh and is vital to Modi’s coalition government.
