Two Priests Rape 5-year-old Girl in Temple After Luring Her With Sweets: Police

A five-year-old girl was allegedly raped by two priests in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district on Tuesday.

The accused, Raju Pandit (55) and Batoli Prajapati (45), were nabbed by the police on Tuesday and booked under Section 376 (rape) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO), Hindustan Times reported.

The accused called the girl inside the temple by offering her a sweet and then raped her, police said. The duo dropped her outside her home after committing the crime and threatened her to not disclose it to anyone, they added.

The police said the victim’s mother observed that the girl was experiencing pain in her private parts and coaxed the girl to disclose the reason for her discomfort. When she told them about what had transpired, the parents informed the police and rushed her to a district hospital.

The girl, a daughter of a farmer, is being treated at the hospital and is said to be in a stable condition.

Datia SP Mayank Awasthi said they were investigating the incident. He added that the police suspected that the two may have abused other minors as well.

“The people have alleged that the two priests might have harassed other minors too, as several girls had told their parents that these priests were 'not good’,” Awasthi was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.