A Kerala priest’s arrest for rape spills out tales about the laity being exploited in ways more than sexual.
The Church did provide him with the customary accommodation for work and rest, but the vicar went on to use the parsonage for deeds inhuman. Fr Robin Vadakkumchery allegedly raped a minor girl under his parish in north Kerala and further exploited the victim’s poverty by reportedly forcing her father to own up the pregnancy. The 48-year-old priest was arrested three weeks after he fathered a child, leading to his suspension from performing the holy sacraments, including mass. But then, this isn’t the first time the clergy sensed the dark acts of the man in white robes.
First, on how Vadakkumchery is said to have brushed the serial cruelty under the carpet. He is claimed to have paid the dirt-poor family in a rugged belt of Kannur district Rs 10 lakh to conceal the real criminal, having persuaded the expectant teenager to tell the police that the rapist was her parent. Not knowing the gravity of the situation, the father of the 16-year-old said he was the one who committed the crime and that the family was not interested in pursuing the case. Only when the police moved to arrest him did the girl spill the beans and reveal the identity: Vadakkumchery, who, ironically, used to speak against child abuse.
Earlier in February, the cops were alerted by a rights NGO, Childline India Foundation, after the minor gave birth to a boy in Christuraj hospital off hilly Koothuparamba. Twenty days since the delivery came the arrest of Vadakkumchery, who was the vicar of the St Sebastian’s church in Neendunoki off Kottiyoor along the Western Ghats bordering Karnataka. While the newborn was shifted to an orphanage in Vythiri (the entrance to neighbouring Wayanad district), the accused priest is said to have attempted to flee India. He reportedly sought to fly to Canada when the police nabbed him on February 28 at Thrissur district’s Puthukad, 35 km north of the international airport at Kochi.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 13, 2017 من Outlook.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 13, 2017 من Outlook.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
The Muslim Question
In the time of polarisation politics and othering, how to respond to the banality of hate?
Voters' Cold Wave
Heat wave, voter apathy and cyclic migration are blamed for the poor voter turnout in Bihar. Political parties are clueless about what impact will it have on election results
Occupy Ivy League
Students protesting in American universities are asking the US government to rethink its policy towards Israel
Left Side Story
Personal attacks, lower voter turnout and the BJP’s determined campaigning: how has Kerala voted this time?
Across the Pir Panjals
The newly carved-out constituency of Anantnag-Rajouri is set to witness a very close contest
Gashes in the Red Sand
Residents of the tribal district of Gadchiroli resist development models that destroy the environment
When Taps and Hope Run Dry
Peaking water scarcity and pervasive groundwater contamination have increased migration from many districts of Rajasthan.
Pilgrim's Politics
Two-time MP from Varanasi, Narendra Modi, is sculpting the eternal city in his image
Under The Model Town
Muslim ghettos in Ahmedabad are dilapidated and neglected
The Master Strategist
The Assam chief minister enjoys popularity both as an administrator and a politician despite his relentless anti-Muslim rhetoric