VIJAYAWADA/KADAPA: Trouble continues to haunt beleaguered Kadapa bishop, Prasad Gallela, who recently resigned amid allegations of having a secret family and misappropriation of church funds for personal use. Even as an internal probe committee of the church is seized of the issue, a case in a Kadapa court is likely to come up for hearing on Friday.Amid this row, another bishop in Vijayawada is facing criminal charges for siphoning off church funds. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) is now seeking custody of Archbishop Govada Dyvasirvadam of the Church of South India (CSI) in a funds misappropriation case in Vijayawada. The archbishop was arrested earlier this week and is currently in judicial custody. The CID on Thursday sought police custody for further investigation.According to sources, even if the internal inquiry committee of the church gives the Kadapa bishop a clean chit, it will wait till disposal of all cases pending against Prasad in court.The former bishop is likely to be reinstated only if he comes clean in both internal inquiry and the court.In the case of the CSI archbishop in Vijayawada, the CID prima facie collected evidence against indicating he sold a parcel of land belonging to the CSI at Eluru. The land was sold by Dyvasirvadam without a registered general power of attorney (GPA) from the diocese of CSI, the top governing body of CSI in Chennai. Also, the land was said to have been sold for ?4.5 crore, but the money was not shown in record books. Only ?80 lakh were shown as spent on purchase of land.In the Kadapa incident, the controversy at St Mary’s Cathedral at Mariyapuram in Kadapa has settled down for the moment after the bishop’s resignation was accepted by Pope Francis earlier this week. However, Prasad is locked in a legal battle with as many as three cases slapped against him at various courts in Kadapa district.While Prasad has been refuting allegations, complainants Mesa Ravi Kumar and Byreddy Chinnappa Reddy maintained the bishop indeed had diverted Diocesan social welfare funds to maintain a lavish lifestyle.Speaking to TOI, Mesa Ravi Kumar pointed out the resignation of Prasad Gallela will not suffice because he is answerable for misappropriation of funds. “As per registered documents pertaining to land deals of Prasad Gallela in Karnataka alone, deals are worth ?35 crore to ?40 crore. Besides, he has amassed assets in Visakhapatnam, Kurnool and other parts of the country,” he said.“We moved court on two grounds. First, violation of Canon law and second, misappropriation of funds. We substantiated our accusation with appropriate documentary evidence submitted to court,” he said.Referring to the Vijayawada case, the CID said it is focusing on donations the church received from various sources, including from foreign countries. CID sources told TOI there were no records of donations received. The CSI church registered under Companies Act should maintain record books on funds it is receiving. CID has moved court, seeking police custody of Dyvasirvadam who is presently in Gannavaram sub-jail under judicial remand. On the other hand, Dyvasirvadam also moved a bail plea in the same court.

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