5 Kerala priests caught in 'sleaze', suspended
Kottayam, June 26 : Five Kerala priests of the Kottayam-headquartered Malankara Orthodox Church have been suspended over allegations of sexually exploiting a woman from the same church, an official said.
Speaking to IANS, Secretary of the Church Biju Oommen said as soon as they received complaint from the husband of the victim, they took immediate action.
"The Church has acted in the utmost responsible manner ... Today as things stand, the five are suspects. Commission has been appointed to probe the episode.
"The probe is on and when the report comes, the Church will again act on it," said Oommen.
The husband has said one of the priest who first exploited his wife was blackmailing her. When she sought help on this from another priest, he too, threatened her and shared her contact with another fellow priest and in the end she came under the duress from at least five priests.
The Orthodox Church was shocked as the episode was criticized heavily on the social media which dented its image.
"We are certainly worried about the huge publicity that the incident has generated and we suspect that there are vested interests who are out to malign our Church in the social media," added Oommen.
The victim has not yet filed a police complaint.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
