Mangueshi Temple priest Dhanajay Bhave was remanded to two-days of police custody after he surrendered before Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) judge on Tuesday. The 51-year old priest has been accused of for molesting two girls inside the temple in June this year.
Mr. Bhave was absconding for more than a month, ever since the first molestation case was filed on July 19 and even before his anticipatory bail plea could be heard. The second victim from Mumbai filed a case a couple of days later.
The Additional Sessions and District Court, Ponda, gave him temporary relief in the first case and heard both his bail pleas together but rejected both of them. The Bombay High Court at Goa too rejected his bail pleas on August 16, following which the police issued a lookout notice.
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Mr. Bhave was booked in two separate cases under Section 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code.
The victims, a Goan-origin student studying medicine in the U.S. and a Mumbai-based Goan girl, had complained to the police separately that the priest had allegedly molested them by hugging and kissing them near the sanctum sanctorum of the Mangueshi temple, while they were on a temple visit and while their parents were praying.
Before approaching the police, the complainants had approached the Shree Manguesh Devasthan Committee, which had said that it could not find any dependable evidence to establish a prima facie case against Mr. Bhave and had advised the victims and their parents to approach “appropriate authority” with their complaints.
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The priest stands suspended from temple’s services following FIRs registered against him by police.