Priest held for sexual assault on two girls in MP’s Chhatarpur district

Chhatarpur (MP), Jul 5 (PTI) A priest has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two girls inside a temple after inviting them to have ‘prasad’ (offering) in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district, an official said on Saturday.

The incident took place on Friday in Barwaha village, about 15 km from the district headquarters, under the jurisdiction of the Garhi Malhara police station.

The complainant told the police that her daughter and her sister-in-law’s daughter were on their way to the sister-in-law's house when they passed by the house of the accused, Bhagwatsharan Dubey, which has a temple Dubey allegedly asked the girls to come inside the temple to collect prasad. When the children complied, he allegedly made inappropriate comments and sexually assaulted them, Garhi Malhara station house officer Rita Singh told reporters.

A case was registered against Dubey under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and he was arrested immediately, the official said.

Area Sub-Divisional Officer of Police Amit Meshram said girls were professionally counselled. Doctors have found both to be physically and mentally stable, the official added. PTI COR LAL NR