HYDERABAD/KARACHI: A court remanded in police custody a Hindu priest in a rape case on Tuesday.

The suspect was arrested for allegedly subjecting a married woman to a sexual assault in a temple a day earlier. He has been kept at an undisclosed place in view of heightened religious sentiments amid a protest in the neighbourhood against the incident.

The 35-year-old victim lodged an FIR (No. 26/23) against the suspect under Sections 376 (punishment of rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

She stated in the FIR that she had come to visit Rani Bagh along with her mother and brother’s wife on the first day of Eid (April 22) and then decided to visit the Shiv Temple located within the vicinity of the local Circuit House.

She stated that she met the suspect who told her that he could resolve her problems in life and asked her to visit him alone on Monday (April 24). She further stated that she went to the temple, where the suspect raped her in a room after throwing “some powder” on her face that made her drowsy.

According to Cantonment ASP Aleena Rajpar, who is supervising the investigation, the police were primarily concerned with the commissioning of the offence, and not with the nature of her problem for which she had approached the priest.

The ASP said that the preliminary report of her medico-legal examination was not yet issued but doctors conveyed to the SHO that the offence of rape was indeed committed.

She said that the police could make a definite statement after examining the victim’s medical report.

Sources said that the woman, mother of a son, had some issues with her husband for which she had approached the suspect to ‘control’ him through some magic’ spell.

KARACHI: The All Pakistan Hindu Punchayat (APHP) on Tuesday condemned the rape of a woman in the Shiv Temple of Hyderabad allegedly committed by a priest.

The incident sparked protests in the area with enraged people demanding action against the suspect and justice to the victim.

APHP chairman Shankar Lal Wadhwani condemned the incident and said: “Hindu religion believes in dignity and honour of women. It does not allow its followers to disgrace any woman. If anyone from the Hindu community commits such a deplorable act, he detracts from religious lines. He is for sure a criminal and our community does not support him ...”.

Mr Wadhwani further stated: “Hindu community here comprises patriotic Pakistanis who believe in co-existence with equality and mutual respect for all castes and creeds. Temples are holy places and open to all. If any person, be it a Hindu, is found responsible for a crime, he will be answerable. We see all human beings as one family and our support will always remain with victims. We are and will always be on the side of the law and court’s decision would be supreme for us”.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2023