Gurugram temple priest held for ‘molesting’ DU student

Our Correspondent

Gurugram, August 23

A 40-year-old temple priest was arrested on the charge of molesting a 19-year-old Delhi University (DU) student on the pretext of “rectifying her horoscope”.

The accused, Ramakant Sharma, was produced in a city court on Friday and sent to judicial custody. According to a complaint filed by a student of BA second year, the alleged incident took place in a temple.

She visited the temple as part of her routine. There, the priest asked her name, date of birth and birthplace, and claimed that her horoscope had some planetary problem which, he said, could lead to trouble. He promised a solution by performing a “puja”. The girl reportedly agreed to it.

“He took me in a room and started molesting me, saying that the touch was ritualistic. He told me not to tell anything about it as it would negate the effect of ‘puja’. If was only when I reached home and introspected that I realised that I had been harassed. I approached the police after confiding in my family,” the victim said in her complaint.

Sharma was booked under Sections 354 (molestation) and 354-B (sexual assault) of the IPC. “The accused confessed to molesting the teenager,” said the police.