A Rajshahi priest has been arrested for keeping an underage indigenous girl confined in a church for three days and raping her.
He was arrested from Amchottor area of Rajshahi city around 5am on Wednesday.
The girl was confined at the St Mary’s Church in Mundumala area of Tanore upazila. Her father filed a case against the church’s In-charge Father Pradeep Gagry with Tanore police station on Tuesday night.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the police station Rakibul Hasan said they rescued the victim on Tuesday and brought her to the police station.
The girl would be sent to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital’s One-Stop Crisis Centre for medical tests, he added.
Earlier, Father Pradeep Gagry was shifted to Rajshahi Dharma Pradesh from the Mundumala church, said Father Patiz Gomez, the church's current assistant in-charge.
The girl’s brother said his sister did not return home after she went to cut grass on September 26. The next day (Sunday) they filed a general diary with Tanore police station as she went missing for 24 hours.
On Monday, local saw the girl on the roof of the church building. When the family members went to rescue the girl, the church’s Father stopped them. The locals then made a phone call to the in-charge of Rajshahi district Dharma Pradesh.
Three priests were sent as representatives from Rajshahi Dharma Pradesh on Monday afternoon. They later convened an arbitration meeting with local village heads Michael Hemran and Mahesh Murmu and tribal leader Kamel Mardi.
In that meeting, the rule was in favour of the priest and the girl’s family was compromised by showing fear of religion. However, the church offered to bear all expenses of the girl until she gets married.
Kamel Mardi, president of the Adivasi Pargana Parishad, said the compromise was made thinking of the girl’s future.
