Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi: A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Tuesday found a Catholic priest and a nun guilty in the infamous murder of Sister Abhaya, whose body was found in the well of a Kottayam convent in 1992.
The verdict was pronounced by CBI special court judge J. Sanal Kumar, and the quantum of the sentence will be announced on Wednesday.
The CBI special court said the charges against Father Thomas Kottoor and Sister Sephy, both of whom are in judicial custody, will stand.
Father Poothrakayal, another accused in the case, had been discharged over lack of evidence against him.
The judgement comes nearly 28 years after Sister Abhaya, who was 21 years old at the time, was found dead in the well of St Pius convent, where she resided.
Abhaya’s parents Thomas and Leelamma died a few years ago awaiting justice for their daughter.
The local police, followed by the crime branch, who investigated the case concluded that it was a suicide.
The CBI had taken over the investigation in 2008.
The trial in the Sister Abhaya case began on 26 August 2019 during which many witnesses turned hostile.
The prosecution claimed Sister Abhaya was attacked with the handle of an axe as she witnessed some alleged immoral activity involving the accused.