The priest who is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl surrendered before Judicial Magistrate (Uthamapalayam) Geetha, who remanded him in judicial custody for 15 days.

He has been lodged in Madurai Central Prisons, according to a report from Theni.

Parish priest of St. Antony’s Church, Pettai, Fr. Gnanapragasam Selvan allegedly raped the girl, who became pregnant.

When the priest’s efforts to pacify the girl’s poor parents failed, he approached doctor S. Meenakshi from Tirunelveli Town, who surgically removed the foetus, according to police.

It was buried in the graveyard under the control of St. Antony’s Church administration.

When the parents filed a case against Fr. Gnanapragasam Selvan, the Tirunelveli All-women police registered a case against him and the doctor. A hunt is on to nab the doctor who has gone missing.

The five-month foetus was exhumed in the presence of Tirunelveli Tahsildar Balasubramanian and Dr. Selvamurugan of Tirunelveli Medical College. It was later sent to laboratory for analysis.

Repeated attempts to get Palayamkottai RC Diocese's official version on this development proved futile as Bishop Rev. A. Jude Paulraj was tight-lipped.