18-year-old alleges rape by priest at home in Gwalior:Accused forced entry into house, assaulted woman; later caught at temple

An 18-year-old girl has accused a temple priest of raping her after breaking into her house and gagging her to silence resistance in Gwalior. The accused was later caught by the victim’s family at the temple, where he was assaulted by another priest before being handed over to the police. Incident in Karhiya police station area The incident took place in a village under the Karhiya police station area. According to the police, the crime occurred on the night of January 4, when the victim was sleeping at home. Her brother and sister-in-law were away, and her mother—who is mentally unwell—was present in the house. Taking advantage of the situation, 65-year-old Hariram, a priest at the Siddheshwar Temple in the village, allegedly entered the house. Gagged and threatened with death As per the victim’s statement, the accused entered her room and lay beside her. When she resisted, he forcibly stuffed a cloth into her mouth. When she attempted to scream, he threatened to kill her using tantra-mantra (occult practices) and went on to sexually assault her. After committing the crime, the accused fled the spot, allegedly threatening the victim with dire consequences if she spoke about the incident. Victim remained silent out of fear Due to fear and trauma, the victim remained silent for one to two days. Later, she gathered courage and narrated the entire incident to her brother and sister-in-law. Family catches accused at temple After learning about the incident, the victim’s family, along with villagers, reached the temple and caught hold of the accused priest. During this time, another priest present at the temple allegedly threw the accused to the ground and beat him severely. The accused reportedly confessed to the crime. Zero FIR registered, arrest made from Shivpuri The victim lodged a complaint at the women’s police station. As it was late at night, the police registered a Zero FIR and forwarded the case diary to Karhiya police station. Subsequently, the police arrested the accused from Shivpuri district. He will be produced before the court on Friday. Further investigation in the matter is underway. Police statement Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) Jairaj Kuber said, The priest of Karhiya temple entered the victim’s house and raped her. Based on the complaint, a case has been registered and the accused has been arrested. Police officials said strict legal action will be taken as per the law.