Punjab: Invited for reciting prayers, 60-year-old priest molests 11-year-old girl

PATIALA: The police in Ropar have booked a sixty-year-old priest under sections of Indian Penal Code and sections of POCSO Act for allegedly molesting an eleven-year-old girl. The police said that the accused have been arrested and sent to fourteen days of judicial custody.
The police revealed that the accused have been identified as a resident of a village in Ropar district and was invited by the girl’s father in the same village to recite the prayers for the minor girl.
The police claimed that the accused was alone with the girl when he committed the crime while reciting the prayers on the behest of the girl’s family. The police added that the accused priest was a family priest of the girl and on the behest of the girl’s father, he had come to her house to recite prayers.
“The girl’s father was not at home while the mother of the girl was in the kitchen to cook the food for the priest with whom the minor girl was seated to participate in the prayers which were being done for her. However, when the priest found the girl alone for a long time he molested her. The girl’s family revealed that the priest also removed his clothes but the statement of the girl is being recorded by the District Child Welfare Officer for further investigations. Meanwhile, the accused was sent to 14 days judicial custody after a case was registered against him and he was produced before the court”, said Station House Officer at Singh Bhagwantpura police station in Ropar district.
The SHO added that the medical examination of the girl is underway to further verify if there was any rape attempt as the girl was minor. The police said that the minor girl was rescued by her mother who called the neighbours for help after the girl started screaming for help.