By Matters India Reporter
Itanagar, July 17, 2020: Women groups in Arunachal Pradesh have condemned the alleged molestation of a young female medical student by a Salesian priest in Itanagar, capital of the northeastern Indian state.
The 22-year-old woman has alleged that Father Cyriac Pulinthanathumalayil molested her during her stay at the Don Bosco Youth Centre in Itanagar where the Salesian priest is the director, reports thedawnlitpost.com, an online paper published from the capital.
A Matters India source who does not want to be identified says the Church authorities in Itanagar do not want the matter published out of concern for the young woman, who, they allege suffers, from psychological problems.
However, the Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Women has reportedly condemned the alleged molestation and initiated action on its own.
It has also sought a status report of the case from the officer-in-charge of the women police station and contacted the Itanagar superintendent of police to direct the concerned officers to expedite the investigation and submit a status report.
The Arunachal Pradesh Women Welfare Society, another group, has urged the women commission to unearth the truth behind the allegations made by the young woman who cannot be named under the Indian law.
The welfare society has contacted the chairperson of Child Welfare Committee, under whose jurisdiction the Childline Itanagar functions, to enquire about the case as well as the women police station.
The First Information Report filed by the woman at the Women Police Station in Itanagar on June 15 says she was staying at the center since March 26 for “Vocational Course” in English.
On June 12, at 8 pm, the priest called her to a small veranda near the dining on the pretext of teaching her “good wisdom.” He then alleged overpowered her and touched her private parts. “I got shocked and walked away from there,” the FIR says.
As the priest allegedly pestered her for the next day two days, she ran out of the center and informed the police at the beat post. The police came to the church center with her. However, the priest allegedly locked himself in and came out only after the magistrate arrived, the FIR says.
The allegation surfaced on July 4 when the woman posted a Facebook post narrating her experience. Since then social media has been divided over the accusations with some questioning the woman’s mental health. The woman has now removed the post.
The priest was arrested immediately after the Facebook post appeared, but was release on bail immediately, the Church sources said.
The welfare society has observed that posts in social have been questioning the alleged victim’s mental health and the veracity of the complaint. Such developments are “not good at this stage when the matter is under investigation and as such it may cause mental harassment,” the women welfare society pointed out.
It also urged the public to refrain from drawing conclusions on the case as investigation is still on and the matter is sub-judice. “Le the police do their investigation,” the pleaded.
The society also said that it is “not appropriate to drag any particular religious community and NGO” in such cases. “If the allegation is established then the APWWS demands that the justice be delivered to the victim,” it adds.