Goa temple priest accused of sexually molesting two women surrenders

A former temple priest of a famous temple in Mangueshi village who was accused of molesting two women surrendered before a court in Goa today and was arrested by the police, an official said.

“51-year-old Dhananjay Bhave, formerly attached to a temple in Mangueshi village, around 15 km from here in North Goa district, turned himself in before the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) at Ponda town,” he said.

A complaint had been registered with the Ponda police by two Mumbai girls against the priest, accusing him of molesting them in the temple on separate occasions during their visit to the place in the last two months.

The priest was subsequently dismissed from the temple’s services after which he was absconding and out od contact.

An anticipatory bail petition had been filed by the accused before the district court which rejected the plea. He later moved the Bombay High Court in Goa which also rejected his petition in the previous week.

“The priest surrendered himself before the JMFC this morning and was subsequently placed under arrest,” a senior official at the Ponda police station said. The accused has been booked under IPC section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), he added.

Previously, the girls described their horrific encounter in two separate letters to the temple management and have alleged that the priest hugged and kissed them in the temple premises, when they visited the temple with their parents. The first incident allegedly took place on June 14 while the second took place on June 22.

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