The horrific rape occurrences at Churches are turning out be a grave issue in the country, as another 60-year-old pastor belonging to a local church in Nagaland was arrested on Monday for allegedly raping a 10-year-old girl in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district.
According to reports, the police have arrested the Pastor named Chandra Kumar Pradhan along with a 35-year-old man for allegedly recording the crime and uploading it on social media. On October 29, the Pastor had reportedly invited the victim to a garden near his residence and later fled after raping the girl. The pastor was on the run till he was arrested by the police officials on Monday.
The report further quoted Sub-Divisional Police Officer (Bokajan), Swetank Mishra as saying, “The girl did not say anything to her parents on the day of the sexual assault. She told them on October 31 last, and they filed a complaint on the same day.”
Police officer Mishra informed the media that pastor had been fleeing his home and changed his location several times to avoid arrest. He was finally arrested from a hotel in Nagaland’s Kohima district. The police further added that Pastor Pradhan has been charged for rape under the IPC and aggravated sexual assault under the Protection of Children from the Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act.
The country has been rocked by repeated rapes and other abusive incidents at Churches, as recently Franco Mulakkal, a Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar, was arrested and released on bail later for allegedly raping a 44-year old nun at a guest house in Kuravilangad in May 2014. Similarly, Father Johnson V Mathew, a priest of Malankara Orthodox church accused in the rape and sexual abuse of a married woman belonging to the fold was arrested in July.
Recently, a Kerala priest working with Catholic Diocese of Lansing in Michigan of the United States of America had been sacked from the facility after the church received complaints of sexual harassment against him. The diocese of Ooty had come under the scanner recently for reinstating their priest Father Jeyapul, even after he was convicted by a US court and served prison time for raping a minor.
