MADURAI: Police are on the look out for a priest who allegedly impregnated a girl who attended a Tirunelveli church . They have registered a case against the priest and a female doctor who conducted an abortion. The doctor too is absconding.

The accused priest is Selvan (34), a resident of Pulliampatti. He was serving at the St Anthony's church at Pettai in Tirunelveli since 2010. He was also in charge of the high school within the church premises. Reportedly, he abused the girl at the parsonage.

The victim is a member in the church choir. It is said Selvan used to invite the girl to his parsonage on Sundays on the pretext of training her to sing. The sexual abuse was revealed when the girl's parents took her to a doctor after they suspected something amiss. After the pregnancy was confirmed, the girl's parents confronted the priest, who advised them to go for an abortion and offered to pay for it. As the girl was five months' pregnant at the time, the priest's aid took the girl to a lady doctor. The girl was admitted in her hospital for five days for the medical termination of pregnancy. The members of the church, who came to know about the cover-up, raised the matter with the All-Women Police Station in Tirunelveli city. Meanwhile, police personnel are guarding the church cemetery where it is alleged that the body of the five month-old fetus was buried in a polythene bag.

Police sources said they hope to exhume the body on Friday.

