Kerala priest who spoke against child abuse arrested for raping minor girl

February 28, 2017

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 28: A priest who spoke against child abuse was arrested in Kerala for alleged rape of a minor which led to her pregnancy, police said on Tuesday.

priestThe 17-year-old gave birth to a baby at a private hospital last month and the accused had shifted both the mother and the newborn to an orphanage in north Kerala’s Wayanad to hush up the incident.

Father Robin Vaddakumchiryil (48), the vicar of St Sebastian church in Kottiyoor, was arrested after the girl narrated the incident to officials of childline, a telephone helpline for children in distress. Childline officials then tipped off police.

The church official had allegedly abused the girl at the computer class provided by the church, police said.

A spokesperson of the Thalasserry diocese said the priest has been taken out of all religious duties.

Police said a DNA test will be held on the priest to ascertain to strengthen the case against him. Police have also booked the private hospital, where she delivered a baby, for not informing police.

“The priest also made an attempt to implicate the girl’s father in the case. Since the family is from an economically weaker section he tried to implicate him and told many about this,” said deputy superintendent of police Prajeesh, who uses only his first name. The priest was planning to travel to Canada to evade arrest, he said.

A police official said the priest was the chief guest at a function organised recently against crime against children. He was also known to have spoken on the issue earlier.

Police quoted the minor as saying that she has been in trauma for the last two years and the priest threatened her not to reveal the incident to anyone. Fearing social stigma, her parents also kept silent. They are also likely to be questioned.

The victim’s family lives near the church and the girl used to visit the church regularly.

The priest has been charged under stringent provisions of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) and IPC.

The new born was later shifted to a government-run home, said Peravur police inspector N Sunil Kumar, who is investigating the case.

The government had recently decided to fast-track cases related to sexual assault on minors.

Activists say that in most cases of child sexual abuse, the victims are known to the accused.

Data from the National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB) show that in 2015, more than 15,000 children faced sexual assault. In more than 8,300 incidents, the accused was known to the child.

Comments

DABBU
 - 
Tuesday, 28 Feb 2017

Gud job padre,,,,,,we need more of it ,,,,u r nothing but a reflection of ur aliance wid the devil...

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News Network
March 15,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 15: The week-long ban imposed by the Karnataka Government from Saturday is yet to get a total response in the State to fight against the spread of killer disease Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The ban has witnessed a considerable reduction in the travelling public by Bus and train. Bus terminal and Railway stations wore desert look or only a very few public travelling. KSRTC, which was maintaining service for every 10 minutes once between the State Capital and to City of Palaces, was forced to cancel most of the service due to very little patronage. 

"We were left with no option but to cancel the fleet since there are no passengers," sources at the KSRTC Bus terminal told media persons.

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News Network
April 29,2020

Mangaluru, Apr 29: One person was arrested on charges of murdering a middle-aged couple on Wednesday in Yellinje near Kinnigoli.

The area falls under the jurisdiction of Mulky police.

Police said that the deceased were identified as Vincent D’Souza (50) and his wife Helina D’ Souza (45).

The arrested was identified as Alphonso (55). He will be sent to judicial custody, said police.

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News Network
June 21,2020

Mangaluru, June 21: A local court has held notorious serial killer Cyanide Mohan Kumar guilty in the murder of a 25-year-old woman from Kasargod. This is the 20th and the last case of Cyanide Mohan to be tried in the sixth additional district and sessions court. 

According to public prosecutor Jayarama Shetty, the victim was working as a cook in a ladies hostel and got in touch with Mohan Kumar, a teacher. He visited her house thrice and promised to marry her. On July 8, 2009, on the pretext of visiting a temple in Sullia, she left home, never to return. 

They had travelled to Bengaluru and three days later, when her family tried to reach her on phone, he told them that she had gone for a bath and that they were married and would be returning back home soon.

The next day Ramakrishna, a constable from Upparpete police station, found a lady lying unconscious outside the bathroom and he immediately rushed her to a local hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival. Like in all other cases, after staying in a lodge and having sex with the victim, he took her to the KSRTC bus stand and asked her to consume a cyanide laced tablet, stating it was a contraceptive pill. 

He asked her to leave behind the jewellery that she was wearing at the hotel room. An unnatural death report was registered and since none of her relatives had turned up for identification of the body, on July 15,2009 the body was buried.

The moment the Dakshina Kannada district police arrested the serial killer on October 21, 2009 and his pictures were all over the media, the family recognised him and the victim’s younger sister filed a missing complaint. The police had also recovered the victim’s jewellery from the house of Mohan’s second wife and the jeweller from whom he had purchased cyanide had also identified him. Meanwhile, the CID had taken over the case and a charge sheet was filed.

"The report from the Forensic Science Laboratory is crucial in this case as cyanide was found in the victim’s viscera. Mohan over the years has become a legal expert and in this case, he had sought two adjournments," said Jayaram Shetty. Mohan is currently lodged in the Hindalga central jail.
 

Comments

AJIT KUMAR
 - 
Sunday, 21 Jun 2020

shame to keep this man  alive for so many criminal cases, shoot him or hang him immideatly

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