Complaint against Bishop was under duress: Woman

Mysuru: Two weeks after an FIR was filed against Mysuru Bishop Most Rev. K.A. William for allegedly outraging the modesty of a woman, the woman in question appeared before journalists at Pathrakartara Bhavan in city yesterday and claimed that she did not voluntarily lodge any complaint against anyone and she was forced to do so. 

It may be recalled here that following a complaint by Association of Concerned Catholics (AoCC) activist Robert Rosario, the Lashkar Police had booked the Bishop on charges of misconduct and impropriety. 

A video message and a hand-written complaint by the woman was in circulation on social platforms for a month. 

The Bishop has since then denied all allegations and claimed that the charges were baseless and were to tarnish his image and of that of the community.

The woman claimed that she had recorded the message and wrote the complaint under duress. She blamed a priest for the alleged episode wherein the Bishop and two other priests were made the accused. She told reporters that she had explained everything in her statement to the Magistrate.

She also apologised to the Bishop and two other priests of the Catholic Diocese of Mysuru for the FIR registered against them.

Rosario had accused the Bishop of ‘kidnapping, threatening and outraging the modesty of a woman.’ The woman now has claimed that she did not voluntarily lodge complaint against any one. 

Accompanied by advocates Mahadev Prasad and Shekar and a relative, the woman said that she does not even know who Robert Rosario was. 

She claimed that the video was shot by someone else. She also claimed that she had just shared the video with a priest and he may have leaked it to Rosario.

“I have not faced any kind of trouble from the Bishop’s side and certain other priests conspired to remove Bishop William from his post and forced me to be a part of their plan. They threatened me and my family and forced me to give written statement. They have used my name to defame the Bishop and I apologise to him,” the woman said.