Thane: Priest held for ‘sexual assault’ of five men

Police said the case was registered last week. In his statement, the complainant said he had been visiting a temple since 2006, where he met the priest.
Police said in 2009, the priest discouraged the man from marrying a woman he was in a relationship with and told him that she will not be able to conceive.

“But I went ahead and married her. Five years on, my wife hadn’t conceived and I went to the priest for help,” the complainant said in his statement.

Police said the priest asked the couple to devote two weeks to helping others at the temple. “We stayed in rooms nearby during which he came to me and forced me to perform a sexual act with him. When I refused, he threatened black magic on me,” the complainant said in his statement.

The man told police that the priest sexually assaulted him several times. He also found out that others had the same complaint against him, police said. “After the case was registered, four more men stepped forward. We have recorded their statements and made them witnesses,” said a police inspector. The accused was booked under Section 377 (unnatural offences) and others under the IPC and relevant sections of the Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Act.