Hyderabad: Priest held for misbehaving with 16-year-old girl in Malkajgiri

A 46-year-old temple priest has been taken into custody by the Malkajgiri police for allegedly misbehaving with a 16-year-old girl.

According to CI Jagadeeshwar Rao, Venkateshwara Sharma is working as a priest in a temple under Malkajgiri police station limits. On October 17, the girl went to the temple where the priest asked to visit the temple on the next day in the evening to hold a special 'puja'.

The priest offered pills to the girl and asked her to take them and return during the night. The girl fell sick after having the pills and disclosed the matter to her parents. They approached the Malkajgiri police who registered and detained the priest today.

In August 2019, a man working as a priest was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting his own daughter. The accused even threatened to kill her if she revealed the incident to anyone. However, the girl's mother found out about the incident and filed a complaint.