Koshi, July 10: Weeks after a married woman accused four priests of an Orthodox church in Kerala of blckmailing and sexually assaulting her, another married woman has allaged that a priest belonging to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church raped her inside the church office in Koipally in 2014.

According to the victim, priest Binu George, who was in the Mavelikara diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church at that time, had called her to solve a family matter. He then raped the woman inside the church office. The crime branch of Kerala Police is ivestigating the matter.

“They spoke for about half-an-hour regarding the family dispute. Then he closed doors and sexually assaulted her,” a crime branch officer in charge of the investigation told Indian Express. The victim had approchaed the church to post a formal complaint aginst the priest but no strong action was taken.

After several consultations, the accused priest was reportedly transferred to another church in Ranni in another district. However, he continued harassing the woman by sending her lewd messages and spreading rumours about her. A case under section 376 (2f) of the IPC has been regisreted against the priest.

Earlier, a married woman accused four priests belonging to different dioceses of the Orthodox church for blackmailing her over a ‘confession’ she made in church and raping her over the years.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 10, 2018 05:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).