india

Updated: Feb 04, 2019 20:53 IST

Three pastors were arrested on Monday by the Mysuru police for allegedly raping a teenager in Mangaluru.

The three have been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The arrests came after the victim’s mother who hails from Mysuru approached the Karnataka High Court alleging that three pastors had raped her daughter. The court had directed the police to take up the case and an FIR was registered on Sunday, police said.

According to the complainant, the pastors had approached her and promised to provide her daughter with employment in Mangaluru, 200 km away from Mysuru. They also promised the mother Rs 1 lakh as assistance towards building a house.

Mysuru police commissioner KT Balakrishna said the girl was taken to Mangaluru by the priests in November.

“Subsequently, when the mother visited the girl she saw that her daughter was used as a domestic help and she found out that she was also sexually assaulted,” he said.

The mother had also said in her plea that her daughter was being held captive in a house by the priests. The accused were identified as Bennet, Joshua and Sebastian, who hail from Balmatta in Mangaluru.

Balakrishna said a police team arrested the priests but the girl could not be found. “While the victim was not there, we have apprehended the priests,” he said.

According to the commissioner, the victim’s mother has not been traced so far because they could not find her at the address given by her in her complaint. “We are trying to trace the mother and the victim,” he said.