The Adimali police on Tuesday arrested a Jacobite priest on the charge of sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman. The police arrested Reji Palakkadan, also an Ayurveda practitioner, on a complaint filed by the parents of the woman.
The police said the priest was running an Ayurveda clinic at Adimali. In their complaint, the parents said their daughter was assaulted by the priest on Monday when she went there for treatment.
He was arrested under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty).
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The police said the accused was the vicar of the Jacobite Syrian Church at Panickankudy. However, the priest was not registered as a medical practitioner. His educational qualifications and other details would be checked.