Police have arrested a 75-year-old priest of a mutt in Maharashtra's Amravati district and his associate for allegedly raping a minor girl on multiple occasions, following which she became pregnant, reported the news agency PTI quoting a police official on Thursday, February 20.
A woman relative of the 17-year-old victim has also been arrested. The girl, along with her parents, approached Shirkhed police station in Amravati on Tuesday evening (February 18) and lodged a complaint against the head priest of the Riddhapur mutt and others.
During medical examination, it came to light that the girl was eight months pregnant. According to the complainant, she has been staying at the mutt doing service for the last year with her uncle and aunt. While she was staying at the mutt, the head priest asked the girl's aunt to send the victim to meet him on April 2, 2024.
The aunt sent the girl in a room of the priest, Surendramuni Talegaonkar, where he allegedly raped her, reported PTI. Balasaheb Desai (40), who too stays in the mutt, also allegedly raped the girl, a police official said, adding that both the accused committed the offence for several months.
The victim initially informed about her ordeal to her aunt, but she threatened her and asked her to remain quiet. The aunt did not help the girl, due to which both the men kept sexually assaulting the victim, the police said. A case has been registered against the three accused under various Indian Penal Code sections, including 376 (rape), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation), as well as provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the official said.