Priest Accused of Sexual Assault Goes Underground

The Hindu
December 20, 2013

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/priest-accused-of-sexual-assault-goes-underground/article5481860.ece

Police are on the lookout for a Roman Catholic priest in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl student here. They are also searching for a doctor, S. Meenakshi of Tirunelveli Town, who reportedly conducted the termination of pregnancy.

Police said the parish priest of St. Antony’s Church in Pettai, Fr. Gnanapragasam Selvan, hailing from Kailasapuram near Puliyampatti in Tuticorin, allegedly committed the crime. When the girl’s parents came to know of her pregnancy, they took up the issue with the priest, who reportedly promised to give “adequate compensation,” besides taking care of the medical expenses of her mother, a cancer patient.

Subsequently, the victim, a member of the church choir, was taken to a doctor for the termination of pregnancy and the foetus was reportedly buried in the cemetery under the control of St. Antony’s Church. However, a group of devotees informed the police.