Abhaya was a member of St. Joseph's Congregation for religious sisters under the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam, Kerala. The local police which investigated the case initially closed it with a theory of suicide. The Crime Branch (DYSP KT Michael) which took up the investigation later tried to strengthen the suicide theory, with claims of psychological illness of the deceased. Following popular pressure and a legal battle launched by Jomon Puthenpurackal, a human-rights activist who established and led the “Sister Abhaya Case Action Council”, the High Court of Kerala transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 1993. The first team of CBI failed to find the reason of death. Upon the instruction of the court, a second-team was set up, which concluded that it was indeed a murder, but there was not enough evidence leading to the murderer(s). Court installed the third team of CBI, and they finally found two priests and a sister responsibl...