In a shocking incident, the Ollur police on Friday framed charges against a Catholic priest for allegedly raping a 10-year-old girl.
A case has been registered against Fr Raju Kokkan, 40, Vicar of the Saint Paul’s (Roman Catholic) Church at Thaikkattussery near here, based on a complaint filed by the parents of the victim.
The police said they received a complaint from the parents of the girl the other day, who is staying near the Ollur railway gate. In the complaint, the parents alleged that the priest raped their daughter on a number of occasions, after summoning her to his office at the church, in the pretext of giving vestments to her. The priest is also alleged to have taken nude photographs of the victim on his mobile phone.
According to R Sujith Kumar, sub-inspector at the Ollur police station, the girl was learning lessons at the church for receiving the first Holy Communion. The priest allegedly sexually assaulted her at least three times this month, after promising to give her costly Holy Communion vestments, free of cost. The victim hails from a poor family.
A medical examination was conducted on the girl, which confirmed that she was subjected to sexual assault. The police have registered a case under Section-376(1) of the IPC, Section-66(a) of the IT Act, and Section-4 of the Protection of Infants from Sexual Offences Act, apart from other provisions in the IPC, the police said.
The priest has not been arrested yet as he is on the run since the incident come to light. Meanwhile, sources in the Police Department said that an arrest would be recorded only after cross-examining the details of the complaint. However, the Thrissur Arch Diocese came out with a press release in the evening, saying that the Diocese had ousted the Vicar from the St Paul’s Church, owing to the incident.