Priest held for raping elderly woman inside temple

Ghaziabad: A 60-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a priest inside the campus of a temple in Patel Nagar under the Sihani Gate area of Ghaziabad. Police said that the accused allegedly raped the woman while she had gone to the temple to meet the priest in order to seek a cure for her skin ailment. The accused, identified as Surendra Singh (55), was arrested on Sunday evening in connection with the alleged incident which occurred on Sunday morning, the police said. According to police officials, the incident occurred when the woman, who lives in the slums in the nearby area, had gone to meet the priest along with her husband.

The woman alleged in her complaint that she was suffering from a prolonged skin disease and upon being advised by some neighbours, she went to meet the priest on Sunday morning along with her 70-year-old husband. When she went inside the temple, the priest, who stays on the premises of the place, asked the victim's husband to wait outside and took her to his room, where he raped her after closing the door, said the police.

As the woman started screaming, her husband rushed inside and locals at the temple caught hold of the priest. Later, he was handed over to the police. "Following the incident, we have registered an FIR under IPC Section 376 (rape) against the accused. Meanwhile, the woman was also sent for a medical examination, where doctors confirmed rape," said Sanjay Kumar Pandey, SHO, Sihani Gate police station, Ghaziabad.