Fr K J Thomas murder: Church passive in murder probe

KOTTAYAM: A relative of Fr K.J. Thomas, who was the Rector of the St Peter's Pontifical Seminary in Bangalore, has accused the church of being passive in his murder probe. A group including priests has stabbed the priest to death on the night of March 31, 2013, inside the seminary.  The police filed the chargesheet in the court naming eight priests, pending trial. Investigators concluded that they killed him as he opposed selling a portion of the seminary land and as a result earned the wrath of Kannadiga priests and their supporters. 

There was a simmering feud between them over retaining the control of the seminary sitting on some 25 acres in a prime location. According to the police, they attacked Ettumanoor native in a bid to steal the documents of the seminary at Maheswaram.  "The church authorities didn't give a statement to the police at the initial stage, and this weakened the case," his nephew  Joseph Mathew told DC. "The pieces of evidence were also tampered with, and I doubt the influential people are deliberately delaying the trial."