After Being Hopitalised Minutes After Arrest, Bishop Franco Mulakkal Deemed 'Healthy'

Agencies

September 22, 2018

Kottayam, Sept 22: Bishop Franco Mulakkal, arrested by the police over allegations of repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting a nun, was Saturday discharged from the government hospital in the city where he was admitted following complaints of chest pain.

The 54-year-old clergyman would be produced in a magistrate court in Pala later in the day. Sources said ECG and other cardiac related tests were performed. His health condition is said to be normal.

He complained of chest pain when he was being taken to Kottayam Police club from the Crime Branch office in Thrippunithura in Ernakulam district on Friday night, official sources said.

The vehicle carrying the Bishop was directed to the Medical College Hospital when it reached Ettumanoor at around 11 pm after the Bishop complained of chest pain, sources said. He is under the observation in the cardiology section of the college after his blood pressure shot up, they said.

Earlier, Mulakkal's medical check up was done at the Government Taluk Hospital in Thrippunithura Friday night, immediately after his arrest. In her complaint to the Kottayam police in June, the nun had alleged that Bishop Mulakkal raped her at a guest house in Kuravilangad in May 2014 and later sexually exploited her on several occasions.

She said she had to approach the police as the church authorities did not act on her repeated complaints against the clergyman.

Comments

police done a great job, all rapits should be hanged whever found guilty,

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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