BANGLADESH
UCA News
Stephan Uttom, Dhaka
Bangladesh
September 1, 2015
A Dhaka court issued an arrest warrant against a Catholic priest on Aug. 30, about a month after a woman accused the priest of abuse and refusing to marry her after nearly 10 years of an alleged intimate relationship.
Felicita Murmu, 44, a Catholic from the indigenous Santal community, filed her case against Father Patras Hembrom, 43, also a Santal, on July 28 under the country’s Women and Children Repression Act.
Murmu’s lawyer Debendra Nath said that if found guilty, Father Hembrom could face 10 years in jail plus a fine. “Having a physical relationship with a woman with a false promise of marriage is a serious crime according to the law,” she said.
Murmu said she was left with no option except to pursue a legal claim against the priest for his past alleged abuses.
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