KANCHEEPURAM: In an incident that would jolt the consciousness of the faithful, a Hindu priest has been accused of “raping” a three-year-old girl within the premises of the Theenpanji Amman Koil on Lingeshwarar Street at the temple town here on Friday evening.
Kancheepuram town was outraged when it woken up on Saturday to the unconfirmed news of the young gurukkal, Devarajan (28) who was accused of sexually fondling the tiny tot, who lives next to the small temple.
The police refused to believe the story till in the evening today when they “were forced” to file an FIR under sections 354, (outraging the modesty of a woman) 294 (B) (obscene act in public place to the annoyance of others) and 506 (criminal intimidation) against the priest, and remanded him to custody.
The girl in question lives adjacent to the small temple, and she, it transpires, used to play on the temple premises.
The priest stands accused of kissing and fondling the girl, an incident that warrants punishment when it is committed especially within premises of a place considered to be holy.
A man living on the same street alerted the “Makkal Mandram” whose members immediately “made a mountain out of a mole.”
The Siva Kanchi police told the parents of the victim girl, Prabhakaran and Kavita that the girl must be sent for medical check up if the accusation of rape had be to slapped on the gurukkal, but the mother refused to give in to the idea.
When the Makkal Mandram threatened that they would plaster the entire city with posters of the priest’s wrongdoing, the police caved in.
There were conflicting reports in the air about the veracity of the incident.
The people of the area told a CID police that the priest was too timid to commit such an act, and it was highly unlikely that he must have done this with sexual motive.
However, representatives of the Makkal Mantram were vociferous that the priest should not be allowed to perform any more rituals at the temple as he had become morally disqualified.
News of such type are greeted with disdain and the people in general tend to believe an accusation of sexual assault against a priest after the infamous incident of Macheswarar Peruman temple priest Devanathan had been accused of having sex with a number women within the sanctum of the temple, which incidentally stands a few buildings away from the temple of the current incident.
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