A priest molested a 12-year-old girl on the premises of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri town.
When the girl was offering prayers at one of the 136 smaller temples on the premises of the 12th-century shrine, the priest allegedly molested her. She was alone in Bamana temple while her parents were in the main Jagannath temple. The incident did not have any eye-witness.
She ran out of the Bamana temple crying and narrated her distress to her parents, who lodged a complaint at the nearest Singhadwar police station. Police detained the priest on Friday night and arrested him a day later under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. The chief welfare committee was informed about the incident by the police.
The priest has been arrested. The girl’s statement has been recorded before a magistrate, and legal action is being taken against the accused, Superintendent of Police K.V. Singh said.
