Mysuru: A woman who had recently leveled sexual harassment charges against Bishop K A William of Mysore has now retracted her allegations and withdrawn her statements. The woman had recently released a selfie video that went viral on social media, in which she had accused the bishop of sexually harassing her. She had also filed a complaint signing the document herself.
Based on the complaint, the Mysuru police had registered an FIR against the bishop on November 29. The complaint was filed against the bishop by Robert Rosario of the Association of Concerned Catholics (AOCC), a citizen’s group. Besides, 37 priests from different parishes had written a letter to the Vatican seeking the bishop’s removal.
The whole episode had caused a huge uproar in the Christian community Mysore diocese. Many Catholics even demanded the change or suspension of the bishop. However, the woman has given a whole new twist to the issue by withdrawing all her statements against the bishop.
The woman, who had accused the bishop of having continuously subjected her to sexual harassment, conducted a press conference in the city on December 13 along with a team of lawyers and said, “I have not had any trouble, whatsoever, from bishop KM William. Someone had forced me to make a video and also write a complaint against the bishop. I was threatened with dire consequences during the making of the video. So I had given a statement against the bishop under threat. Now the same video is going viral on social media and is being sold for lakhs of rupees.
“Due to my statement and video, which were done under duress by some people, the names of Bishop William, Fr Leslie Moras, and Vijay Kumar have been tarnished. There are 37 priests behind this plot,” added the woman.
The woman further clarified, “I am not giving this statement under pressure of bishop or anyone else. My life is under threat even now. I am living in fear. So I will not file a complaint against anyone. Now the inquiry is being conducted by the police based on the complaint filed by Robert Rosario. I have already clarified my stand in front of the investigating officers.” daijiworld.com
