Temple priest arrested for misbehaving with foreign tourist

Bhubaneswar: A sevayat (priest) of Shree Lingaraj Temple here was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly misbehaving with a woman foreign tourist, a police officer said.

The accused, identified as Kundu Mahapatra, was arrested following a complaint by a foreign national, the officer added.

"We arrested a sevayat for his inappropriate behaviour towards a woman from Sweden. When the foreign tourist was roaming alone near the Lingaraj temple, the priest misbehaved with her," DCP Bhubaneswar Prateek Singh told PTI.

The Lingaraj police station registered a case under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 354 (intending to outrage her modesty) and 354 A (sexual harassment, including unwelcome sexual behaviour and demands) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the priest.