Two Orthodox priests accused of rape surrender

IANS  |  Kollam/Thiruvalla 

Two priests accused in a rape case of a woman parishioner, Monday surrendered as per the directive of the

Father (Abraham) Varghese and Father Jaice K. George had moved the The court asked them to surrender before a probe team on or before the Aug 13.

These two priests were on the run and had approached the Supreme Court, which for a while stayed their arrest till the case was disposed of. Early this month they were asked to appear before the probe team by Aug 13.

While Varghese appeared before a court in Thiruvalla, George appeared before the police at Kollam.

Varghese was later remanded in judicial custody till Aug 23 and George will be produced before a court tomorrow.

In this case the Crime Branch has charged four priests, including the two who have now secured bail, Father and Father

The victim who regularly visited the church had accused five priests of sexually abusing her for a decade. Her husband had complained that she came under pressure from at least five priests.

It was one in the beginning who first exploited his wife and then started blackmailing her.

When she sought help from another priest, he too, threatened her and shared her contact with a and she was eventually victimised by five of them.

The is monitoring the case. One of the priests escaped action as the victim had mentioned only four names, according to the police.

--IANS

SG/prs

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First Published: Mon, August 13 2018. 19:52 IST