The Kerala Police have filed a rape case against another priest of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, PTI reported on Tuesday. Last week, the police had booked four priests of the church on charges of rape and molestation.
A woman accused Binu George of sexually assaulting her at a church office in Alappuzha district when she met him to seek help on a family dispute in 2014. She told the police that church authorities assured her that she would not face any harassment from him in the future. They also transferred the priest to another parish, but he allegedly continued to send her lewd messages, The Indian Express reported. She then decided to approach the police.
“We had transferred him out of the complainant’s parish as a punishment,” Malankara Church priests trustee Father MO John told The Indian Express. “What the Church could do then was only transfer the priest. Now, we may take harsher decisions, including defrocking, since he is facing a criminal case.”
A team led by district crime records bureau Deputy Superintendent of Police Sivaprasad has started an investigation based on the woman’s complaint, police officials told Scroll.in on Wednesday. The case was filed on Monday.
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