Father K.J. Thomas was found dead with multiple injuries at a seminary in Karnataka state’s capital Bangalore in 2013
Catholics in the southern Indian state of Karnataka demand justice for Father K.J. Thomas, then rector of St. Peter’s Pontifical Institute in Bangalore, who was found dead with multiple injuries at the seminary on April 1, 2013. (Photo supplied)
A close relative of a Catholic priest found dead under suspicious circumstances inside a major seminary in southern India has demanded a federal agency probe to establish the truth.
Father K.J. Thomas, 62, the then rector of St. Peter’s Pontifical Institute, Bangalore (now Bengaluru) in Karnataka state, was found dead with multiple injuries outside his room at the seminary on April 1, 2013.
“My uncle was physically tortured and murdered in the most inhuman way,” Joyson Mathew claimed in a March 27 communiqué addressed to Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore, blaming ethnic rivalry within the archdiocese for the suspected murder.
The nephew of the deceased priest said his family was not happy with the tardy investigations conducted by the state’s police and urged the archbishop to pursue the Karnataka state government to hand over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a premier federal agency.
Mathew further expressed displeasure with archdiocesan officials for not taking any action against the priests named as suspects in the case.
The state police had initially charged 12 people including six Catholic priests, but Karnataka High Court dismissed the cases against six including four priests as the investigators failed to prove their involvement in the murder.
“I firmly believe the accused are the real culprits and more evidence needs to be collected to strengthen the case when it comes to trial”
“This April 1 it will be nine years since my uncle was physically tortured and murdered in the most inhuman way. You knew him personally and so you know well that he did not die due to his personal hostility with anyone,” Mathew said.
A probe by the CBI may speed up the trial while also ensuring the real culprits are punished, the family believed.
“The trial of the case has not been begun due to legal hurdles. I firmly believe the accused are the real culprits and more evidence needs to be collected to strengthen the case when it comes to trial. At this juncture I believe an investigation by an outside agency like the CBI would strengthen the progress of the case and book the culprits and do justice to my uncle,” Mathew added
He said that for the immediate family members of Father Thomas the past nine years had been a time of grief and sorrow. “We still miss him dearly,” he said.
Speaking to UCA News, Archbishop Machado said “we don’t find any reason to request the government for a federal probe into it. The delay in the trial is because of the time taken in settling two special leave petitions [appeals] connected with the case pending in the Supreme Court of India.”
The prelate said that once the top court decides on the appeals, the trial will resume.
He said that like the family members of Father Thomas, he too wanted a speedy trial and punishment for the real culprits as no one should repeat such types of crimes in the future.
Archbishop Machado, however, said the family members were free to pursue their demand for a federal agency probe with appropriate authorities in the state government.