The city police have arrested a 55-year-old temple priest who surrendered in connection with a case booked against him for allegedly sexually assaulting girls who stayed on the temple premises.
The accused has been identified as V. Chandrasekar, 55, of Kandasamy Nagar. He has been booked under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The police had been searching for him.
The police sources said that in 2018, when a 14-year-old girl who was studying Class X went to the Gangaiamman Temple in Kandasamy Nagar, Maduravoyal, Chandrasekar told her parents that she had dosham (bad spirits) and that should be warded off. On the advice of the priest, the girl and her mother stayed in the temple for 15 days.
Recently, the father of the girl learnt that the priest sexually assaulted another minor girl who stayed in the temple for performing a puja. Then he learnt from his daughter that the priest had sexually assaulted her when she was staying there and threatened her not to disclose to anyone. The father of the girl recently caught hold of the priest and thrashed him. The priest was admitted in a private hospital and the parent lodged a complaint with the police seeking criminal action.
Police had registered a case under sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences(POCSO) Act. The accused had escaped. He surrendered to Maduravoyal Police on Thursday.
