2nd Kerala priest taken into custody in rape case
Thiruvalla, July 13 : One of the four accused Kerala priests, Father Johnson V. Mathew, named in a sexual abuse case of a parishioner, was arrested from a place near here, said police on Friday.
This is the second arrest in the case where the husband of a woman accused five priests of sexually abusing his wife for a decade. While four priests have been arraigned as accused, Mathew has been charged not for rape, but "for outraging the modesty of a lady".
Mathew was taken into custody by the Kerala Crime Branch from a house in Kozhencherry. He is being interrogated at the Crime Branch office.
On Thursday the police arrested Father Job Mathew and he has been remanded to judicial custody.
On Friday, the police also searched the house of the first accused, Father Sony (Abraham) Varghese near here. However, they failed to get any lead about his whereabouts. Varghese along with another accused, Father Jaice K. George, are on the run.
Earlier on Friday, the Crime Branch issued a warning that no one should try to shield any of the accused. A few hours later Mathew was taken into custody.
The arrest of the accused priests became a certainty after the High Court in Kochi on Wednesday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of three of them named in the complaint.
A woman who regularly visited the Malankara Orthodox Church had accused five priests of sexually abusing her for a decade. Her husband had complained that she came under the duress from at least five priests.
It was one priest in the beginning who first exploited his wife and then started blackmailing her.
When she sought help from another priest, he too threatened her and shared her contact with a fellow priest and she was eventually victimised by five of them.
The National Commission for Women is monitoring the case. One of the priests escaped action as the victim had mentioned only four names, the police officer said.
There have been reports that the two priests currently on the run will be approaching the Supreme Court for relief from arrest.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
