Forged document case: Police record statement of senior priest, New Indian Express (July 18, 2019)

Forged document case: Police record statement of senior priest

New Indian Express
July 18, 2019

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Fr Mundadan, a senior priest of Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, said that being the secretary of the Presbyteral Council, the police sought details regarding the Church land scam.

City police on Wednesday recorded the statement of Fr Kuriakose Mundadan, secretary of the Presbyteral Council, in connection with the alleged forging of documents to defame Cardinal Mar George Alencherry. According to sources, the investigating team probing the case visited the priest’s office and sought details from him for over three hours.

Fr Mundadan, a senior priest of Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, said that being the secretary of the Presbyteral Council, the police sought details regarding the Church land scam.

“As part of the ongoing probe, the investigators sought some inputs relating to the case. Being the secretary of the council, I will be able to throw light on the land deals,” Fr Mundadan told Express.
Meanwhile, police officials said that investigation is progressing and they are collecting statements from several people and priests belonging to the archdiocese.

Former apostolic administrator of the archdiocese Bishop Mar Jacob Manathodath and senior priests Fr Paul Thelakkat and Fr Tony Kallookaran are the first and second accused, respectively, in the document forgery case. The other accused are Adithya Zacharia and his friend Vishnu, who allegedly helped Adithya to forge the documents.

The case pertains to the alleged forging of documents which contain details about certain financial transactions in the Church involving the Cardinal and others. The documents received through e-mail was handed over to Bishop Manathodath. Later Cardinal George Alencherry termed the documents as fake when the issue was raised in the Synod of the Syro Malabar Church presided over by him.

However, the Church filed a police complaint and an FIR was registered in connection with the forging of documents. On investigation, Adithya Zacharia, a techie was arrested for sending the documents from his e-mail ID to Fr Paul Thelakkat.