Malankara Varghese murder case

Last updated

The Malankara Varghese Murder Case is a case regarding the death of T. M. Varghese also known as Malankara Varghese, a member of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church's managing committee and a timber merchant on 5 December 2002. He was hacked to death by a gang outside a car workshop on main central road near Perumbavoor. Though the murder was initially described as a result of business rivalry, his relatives suspected involvement of a rival church faction. India's Central Bureau of Investigation on 9 May 2010 charged Father Varghese Thekkekara, a priest and manager of the Angamali diocese in the rival Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church (a part of the Syriac Orthodox Church) with conspiracy in the murder and named him as the prime accused. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Investigation

Initially, the murder of Varghese was considered a crime conducted by his business rivals, but five years of probe by the state police’s crime branch yielded nothing conclusive. Varghese’s widow then approached the Kerala High Court, and it ordered a CBI investigation in November 2007. The CBI’s Chennai unit then accused 19 people of the murder and said it was possibly due to the long-standing feud between the Malankara Orthodox Church which has its headquarters in Kottayam and the Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church, which has its headquarters in Ernakulam. When the CBI arrested Joy Varghese alias "Cement Joy", he confessed that he had hired the criminals who committed the murder for a large sum of money. [6] Chief Judicial Magistrate Ernakulam allowed Joy Varghese to be in CBI custody for more investigation. Murder, scheming murder, and violation of ‘Weapons Prevention Act’ etc. were the charges against Joy Varghese. It was alleged that one of the reasons for suspects not getting arrested was political interference. [7] "Some prominent personalities of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch in India were the motive force behind Joy Varghese and there are documents showing withdrawal of Rs. 400,000.00 from their bank accounts", said CBI.[ citation needed ] CBI produced documents to the High Court in a sealed envelope. Catholicose of the East Designate Paulose Mar Milithios of the Malankara Orthodox Church expressed his contentment over the CBI actions and hoped for the prevailing of justice in the Malankara Varghese murder case. [8] [9] [10]

The Kerala High Court on 1 June 2010 asked the Central Bureau of Investigation why Fr Varghese Thekkekkara, the first accused in the Malankara Varghese murder case, was not arrested, if there was evidence against him. The CBI submitted that Fr Thekkekkara cooperated with the investigation, but the arrest was avoided since it was a sensational case related to the church. But the court said this was not a sufficient reason to avoid arrest. "It is not the first time that a priest is arrayed as an accused. Does the CBI has a practice of not arresting those who cooperate with the investigation?," the court asked. Justice K Hema asked this while considering the anticipatory bail application filed by Fr Thekkekkara, and petition filed by Varghese’ widow Saramma alleging that the CBI was showing discrimination in arresting the accused. [11]

On 11 June 2010, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Managing Committee endorsed a motion, which "appeals to the authorities to bring all culprits into daylight and to judicial trial, who are behind the brutal murder of Malankara Varghese, former Malankara Managing Committee Member". [12]

On 16 June 2010 Father Varghese Thekkekara surrendered before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Ernakulam. The magistrate M N K Leelamani granted bail to him on furnishing a bond of Rs 25,000 plus two sureties for the like amount. [13]

On 25 February 2011 The Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Ernakulam, directed the CBI to reinvestigate the murder of Malankara Varghese, on a petition filed by his wife, Saramma Varghese. She alleged that the charge sheet submitted by the CBI did not have the names of ‘higher ups' involved in the conspiracy to kill her husband. [14] [15] [16] On 21 October 2011 the CBI unit, Thiruvananthapuram quizzed Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church Catholicos Baselios Thomas I in connection with the murder case. The Catholicos appeared before the CBI at its office in Kochi. According to CBI sources, he was quizzed by the officials for three hours. [17] [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church</span> Orthodox Church in Kerala, India

The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. It serves India's Saint Thomas Christian population. According to tradition, these communities originated in the missions of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. It employs the Malankara Rite, an Indian form of the West Syriac liturgical rite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Bureau of Investigation</span> Indian federal law enforcement agency

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the domestic crime investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmental corruption, in 1965 it received expanded jurisdiction to investigate breaches of central laws enforceable by the Government of India, multi-state organised crime, multi-agency or international cases. CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act. CBI is India's officially designated single point of contact to act as the liaison with Interpol. The CBI headquarter is located in CGO Complex, near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Thomas Christians</span> Indian ethnoreligious group

The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani, Malankara Nasrani, or Nasrani Mappila, are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala, who, for the most part, employ the Eastern and Western liturgical rites of Syriac Christianity. They trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. The Saint Thomas Christians had been historically a part of the hierarchy of the Church of the East but are now divided into several different Eastern Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Protestant, and independent bodies, each with their own liturgies and traditions. They are Malayalis and their mother tongue is Malayalam. Nasrani or Nazarene is a Syriac term for Christians, who were among the first converts to Christianity in the Near East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syro-Malabar Church</span> Eastern Catholic church

The Syro-Malabar Church, also known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. It is a sui iuris (autonomous) particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO). The major archbishop presides over the entire church. The incumbent Major Archbishop is Raphael Thattil, serving since January 2024. It is the largest Syriac Christian church and the largest Eastern Catholic church. Syro-Malabar is a prefix reflecting the church's use of the East Syriac liturgy and origins in Malabar. The name has been in usage in official Vatican documents since the nineteenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malabar Independent Syrian Church</span> Oriental Orthodox church in India

The Malabar Independent Syrian Church (MISC), also known as the Thozhiyur Church, is a Christian church centred in Kerala, India. It is one of the churches of the Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the evangelical activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baselios Thomas I</span> Catholicos of the East (born 1929)

Mor Baselios Thomas I is the Syriac Orthodox Catholicos of India (Maphrian) and head of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. He was enthroned on 26 July 2002 by Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East in a ceremony held in Damascus, Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sister Abhaya murder case</span> 1992 death in India

Sister Abhaya, a Knanaya Catholic sister, was found dead in a well filled with water in St Pius X Convent in Kottayam on March 27, 1992. Investigation into this death is by far the longest running murder investigation in the State of Kerala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregorios Joseph</span> Syriac Orthodox Church Metropolitan of Kochi, India

Mor Gregorios Joseph is a Syriac Orthodox archbishop and currently the Malankara Metropolitan of the Syriac Orthodox Church in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malankara Church</span> Historic Indian Christian denomination

The Malankara Church, also known as Puthenkur, is the unified body of Saint Thomas Christians using the West Syriac Rite who claim origins from the missions of Thomas the Apostle. This community, under the leadership of Thoma I, opposed the Padroado Jesuits as well as the Propaganda Carmelites following the Coonan Cross Oath of 1653, which was taken to resist Western Catholic influences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholicos of India</span> Ecclesiastical office

The Catholicos of India also known as the Catholicos of the East, Metropolitan of Malankara, or Maphrian of the East is the head of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, a maphrianate of the Syriac Orthodox Church, functioning within the Church at an ecclesiastical-rank second to the Patriarch of Antioch, and his name is commemorated in liturgy throughout the Syriac Orthodox Archdioceses in India and its diaspora. The position was renamed as Catholicos of India in 2002, in accordance with its actual jurisdiction.

Mazhuvannoor is a panchayat village in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. It is located in the Kunnathunad taluk. It is located near the town of Kolenchery. The panchayat headquarters are located at Airapuram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philaxinos Samuel</span>

Samuel Mar Philexinose was the first bishop of the Malabar Diocese of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Alencherry</span> Head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church from 2011 to 2023

George Alencherry is the Major Archbishop Emeritus of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church after serving in the postion from 2011 to 2023. He is also a cardinal of the Catholic Church.

Sir Dr. Mor Athanasious Eliyas is a Syriac Orthodox bishop. As of 2012 he was the Patriarchal vicar of Singapore, President of Antiochean Faith Movement in India and Vicar General of the St. Athanasius Cathedral at the Puthencuriz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Thomas Christian denominations</span> Christians from Kerala, India

The Saint Thomas Christian denominations are Christian denominations from Kerala, India, which traditionally trace their ultimate origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. They are also known as "Nasranis" as well. The Syriac term "Nasrani" is still used by St. Thomas Christians in Kerala. It is part of the Eastern Christianity institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Kolenchery</span>

St. Peter's and St. Paul's Orthodox Syrian Church or 'Kolenchery Church' is a Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church church situated in Kolenchery, in Ernakulam, Kerala, India. It was built by Thankan Mappila of the Kolenchery House in 9th century CE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theophilos Kuriakose</span> 20th and 21st-century Syriac Orthodox Church bishop

Mor Theophilos Kuriakose is a Syriac Orthodox bishop of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church. As of 2013 he was the resident Metropolitan of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Theological Seminary, Udayagiri and the Metropolitan of the Malankara dioceses of Germany.

Geevarghese alongside Varughese, Varghese, Verghese, Varkey, Varughis, and Vergis are Syriac–Malayalam variants of George in India. Geevarghese may refer to:

Yuhanon Meletius is the metropolitan bishop of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church's Thrissur Diocese in India. Following the death of Baselios Marthoma Paulose II in 2021, Meletius was one of the seven members of an administrative council that governed the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC).

The Malankara Orthodox-Jacobite church dispute or the Schism of 1912 was the split in the Malankara Syrian Church that led to an ongoing series of church disputes in Kerala, India. The dispute, also known as the Second Community Case or the Second Vaṭṭippaṇa Case, has been intertwined with continuous litigations and has resulted in the formation of two rival church bodies, namely the autocephalous Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, an autonomous church under the Syriac Orthodox patriarchate of Antioch. Although the Indian supreme court judgement of 1995 made a terminal legal conclusion of the dispute, the disagreements related to the administration of the parish church property continues to cause occasional law and order problems and significant obstruction to a permanent solution of the dispute. The dispute in three of these parishes was moved to the court and its final verdict was made by the Supreme Court in 2017, in favour of the Malankara Orthodox Church. But the dispute remains unresolved, and police interventions to implement the judgement continue to meet intense protest and confrontation in churches currently administered by the Jacobite Church. The continuing dispute also led to increased sectarianism among members of the once undivided community and the solidification of the schism between the two rival factions.

References

  1. ↑ "Kerala hits priest with murder rap". The Times of India . 9 May 2010. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011.
  2. ↑ "Malankara Varghese murder: Fr Varghese in custody". Sight India. 9 May 2010.
  3. ↑ "Malankara Varghese murder : Christian priest main accused". Kerala News. 9 May 2010.
  4. ↑ "Kerala Christian priest faces murder charge". The New Indian Express. 7 May 2010. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Christian priest prime accused in murder case". Haindavakeralam. 9 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "Malankara Vargheese murder; Priest prime accused". Asianet. 8 May 2010.
  7. ↑ "Malankara Varghese murder: Priest faces murder charge". Mathrubhumi. 8 May 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  8. ↑ "Malankara Varghese Murder Case: 2nd Suspect Arrested". Indian Orthodox Herald. 8 April 2010.
  9. ↑ "Malankara Varghese murder: Christian priest main accused". BizHat.com. 8 May 2010.
  10. ↑ "Malankara Varghese murder: Christian priest main accused". Kaumudi. 8 May 2010.
  11. ↑ "Malankara Varghese murder: HC questions CBI". The New Indian Express. 1 June 2010. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013.
  12. ↑ "Malankara Managing Committee Passes Budget for Rs. 290.80 Crores; Four New Dioceses - Indian Orthodox Herald - Breaking Catholicate, Malankara, Indian Orthodox Church News And Doctrinal Information". orthodoxherald.com.
  13. ↑ "Priest accused in murder case surrenders". ChennaiOnline. 16 June 2010.[ dead link ]
  14. ↑ "Order to reinvestigate murder". The Hindu . Chennai, India. 27 February 2011. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011.
  15. ↑ "CBI ordered to probe Malankara Varghese murder". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Court directive to re-probe Malankara Varghese murder case". Archived from the original on 28 February 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  17. ↑ "Malankara Varghese murder case leads to Church". IBNLive. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012.
  18. ↑ "CBI questions head of Syrian Jacobite Church in murder case". twocircles.net. 21 October 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.