Sister Abhaya murder case: How cops unravelled mystery

It took 28 years for the court of law to decide that the accused in the sensational Sister Abhaya murder case were the actual culprits. Shrouded in mystery right from the day one, the case has seen many twists and turns during the unusually protracted trial which hit many a roadblock over the years. Sister Abhaya, who was a Pre-Degree student at BCM College, Kottayam and an inmate of Pious Tenth Convent, was all of sixteen when she was brutally murdered by cassock-clad padres inside the divine premises of a nunnery.

According to the case, on the star-crossed day of March 26, 1992, the two accused – Fr Thomas Kottoor and Sr Sephy - decided to eliminate the victim when she accidently saw the two accused copulating inside the convent cellar. Sr Abhaya was on her way to the kitchen at 4:15 in the morning to collect some water as she wanted to prepare for an examination, but it proved to be fatal for the unsuspecting little bride of Christ. The accused, fearing scandal and blasphemy, hit Sr Abhaya's head with an axe with an intention to murder her. After confirming the death of Sr Abhaya, the accused dragged the body out and pushed it into a well on the premises with an intention to make the murder look like suicide. After carefully examining the charge-sheet and case records, the CBI court conducted the trial in the case, which took the case to its logical conclusion on Tuesday.

Even the artificial hymen sewn through surgery on the vagina of a nun accused in the case turned out to be one of the bizarre evidences in the rare case during the hearing. It was argued that Sr Sephy, one of the prime accused, underwent hymenoplasty surgery to prove she was a virgin and had not involved in sexual act with the priest. the virginity test conducted on Sr Sephy was one of the most dramatic exercise during the investigation. In the medical examination, it was proved that Sr Sephy, the third accused in the case, fixed the membrane to prove her virginity. The examination was conducted by police surgeon in the Alleppey Medical College and 29th witness in the case Dr Rama and 19th witness Dr Lalithambika Karunakaran, according to the prosecution.

A watchman on duty told the police that he saw another accused in the case Fr P Jose parking his scooter near the compound wall and jumping inside the convent at night around 9 and coming back at 5 am some three days prior to the murder of Sr Abhaya.

The prosecution pointed out that Sr Abhaya witnessing the sexual act of Fr Kottoor and Sr Sephy was the reason behind the murder.

Interestingly, throughout the investigation there were several attempts to dilute the case, yet the case lasted for 28 years as if an unknown power had been trying to keep the case rolling until it reached its logical conclusion. The case was closed and reopened many times by both crime branch and the CBI, the country's premier investigative agency. What could have ended up as an accident or suicide, the case continued more than two-and-a-half decade to be proven by the court at last.

It was in January 30, 1993, the crime branch submitted its report, claiming that Sr Abhaya's death was suicide. But when there were widespread protests by public and civil right organisations against the crime branch's report, the case was handed over to the CBI on March 30. However, Dy SP Varghese P Thomas who led the investigation resigned from his post as he was unable to make any headway in the most sensational and manipulated case in December same year.

Again in June 2, 1994, a special investigating team of the CBI took up the case, but sought to close the case as it could not find any substantial evidence to prove that the accused were the culprits in its report submitted in the court. On March 20, following a compliant by the victim's father, the court ordered the CBI to reopen the case. After two years, on July 12, the CBI could establish that Abhaya's death was nothing but murder. However, the CBI said as the evidences were destroyed, it would not be able to find the culprits.

The Kerala High Court directed the CBI to further investigate the case in May 2001. As the police failed to make any progress even after many years, a new CBI team was given the charge of investigation in 2007. After intensive and prolonged probe, the team finally could establish in the court that Sr Abhaya's death was a meticulously planned murder. On Wednesday, the CBI court will hand over the sentence in the case, putting the sensational murder case to rest and providing justice to Sr Abhaya. Still the sleaze, sex and murderers in holy outfit continue to thrive in the dark alleys of convents and seminaries. Several cases of sexual assaults and murders come out of closet by each passing day, yet most of the accused in spiritual garments manage to go Scot-free, thanks to the corrupt system that the populace put in place after every elections. May Sr Abhaya's soul rest in peace, finally! Amen!