Pastor accused of rape in UK, was booked earlier too

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 8

A pastor, who was earlier booked in a rape case by the Punjab Police, has been again accused of raping a seven-year-old girl in the UK. The victim is from Chandigarh and had gone to Birmingham with her mother last year, where she was allegedly raped in a hotel.

The victim’s mother came to know about the incident recently and has now submitted a complaint to the Chandigarh Police, who are looking into the matter.

The woman, a resident of Sector 46, in her complaint, has alleged that she and her daughter had visited the UK with the pastor to attend a religious conference. She alleged that during her stay in the UK, she left the hotel to visit a bank and left her daughter in the hotel room, where her daughter was allegedly raped by the pastor.

The woman claimed that she and her daughter returned to India in May 2018. However, her daughter did not disclose the incident to her. It was only in March this year that the victim shared her ordeal with a friend. The victim’s friend narrated the incident to her mother, who then informed the victim’s mother.

However, for several months, the victim’s mother did not approach the police. In July, she reportedly took the victim to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, for a medical examination and later submitted a complaint against the pastor at the public window of the UT police on September 16.

The pastor’s wife has termed the allegations false and baseless. “The woman had vested interests, which didn’t get fulfilled, following which she submitted a false complaint against my husband,” she said.

Police officials said they were looking into the complaint. The police said as per the complaint, the offence took place outside India, which was also a consideration while probing the complaint.

‘Violated 7-year-old’

A woman, a resident of Sector 46, in her complaint, has alleged that last year, she and her seven-year-old daughter had visited the UK with the pastor to attend a religious conference. She alleged that during her stay in the UK, she left the hotel to visit a bank and left her daughter in the hotel room, where her daughter was allegedly raped by the pastor.