Sister Abhaya case: Two priests held in Kerala

The CBI on Wednesday arrested two priests in the Sister Abhaya case.

The arrests of Father Thomas M Kottur and Father Dr E Jose Puthrikayil was recorded this morning by CBI. They will be produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate court, Ernakulam at about 2 PM.

This is the first arrest in the case relating to the death of Sister Abhaya, a nun of the St Pius convent at Kottayam, 16 years ago.

According to unconfirmed reports, the CBI has also arrested Sister Sephy, a nun in connection with the case.

The CBI had earlier conducted narco analysis and polygraph tests on the two priests and Sister Sephy.

On September 4 this year the Kerala High Court directed the CBI Delhi unit, which was investigating the case, to hand over the probe to its Kochi unit after observing that an "unseen hand" was at work to "jettison" the truth in the sensational case.

 Sister Abhaya's body was found in the well of the St Pius convent on March 27, 1992. The local police and crime branch investigated the case and had concluded that it was a case of suicide.

The CBI took over the case on March 29, 2003, and filed three closure reports, saying though it was a case of murder, the suspects could not be found. The High Court refused to accept the report and asked the probe agency to further investigate.