Seven and eight year old girls raped by a priest in a temple in south Delhi

By Ellen Scott
Cosmopolitan UK
August 30, 2014

http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/reports/news/a29219/young-girls-raped-by-priest/

India's streak of making headlines for horrific acts of rape and sexual assault continues this week with the revelation that two young girls, aged seven and eight, were raped in a temple in South Delhi by a 70 year old priest.

The priest, Baba Vishvabandhu, allegedly molested the girls over the course of a week, taking advantage of Janmashtami day, when celebrations were taking place. The eight year old girl broke down and revealed what happened to her mother, after complaining of pain in her abdomen and difficulty passing urine.

The girls said that the man molested them each time they had gone to the temple in the past week. He offered money and food to buy their silence, and threatened them to ensure they told no-one about what he had done.

When the news broke, residents of the area dragged the priest out of the temple and beat him before going to the police. He has been arrested, but there are not yet any details of the length of his sentence.

This comes after reports that India has been noted as one of the worst places to be a woman, just one notch below Saudi Arabia. Delhi, in particular, has been referred to as particularly unsafe for children. Across India, 58,224 crimes against children were recorded in 2013 alone.