A rape case has been registered against a Christian priest in Kerala on the basis of a complaint given by a woman hailing from Chevayoor near Kozhikode city.
The woman alleged in the petition, filed at the Chevayoor police station on Wednesday, that she was raped by the priest - Manoj Jacob - in a house on June 15, 2017. She also stated that the delay in filing the complaint was owing to a threat from the priest.
Manoj Jacob is a member of the Thamaraserry diocese in the Kozhikode and is now on higher studies. He was the priest at a local church near Chevayoor when the alleged incident took place.
A police official at the Chevayoor police station said that a preliminary investigation into the incident was on and further steps like arresting the accused would be initiated in the due course.
Protest against nun
Meanwhile, a section of Christian believers staged a protest march against a nun who penned an autobiography alleging rampant sexual assaults by priests on nuns in Kerala churches.
Sister Lucy Kalappura, who was among the nuns who protested against rape-accused former Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal, penned the autobiography which also revealed that she herself faced sexual harassment attempts four times.
A section of devotees staged a protest march to the convent of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation at Mananthavady in Wayanad, where the nun is now staying, and raised abusive threatening slogans against the nun on Wednesday night.
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday rejected a plea seeking a ban on publishing the autobiography, which is scheduled to be released this week.
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