Odisha: Priest held for molesting minor in Puri Jagannath temple

BHUBANESWAR: The Puri Police on Saturday arrested a priest of a subsidiary shrine inside the famous Jagannath temple for allegedly molesting a 12-year-old girl from Hyderabad on Friday evening.
The accused was identified as Sangram Dash (27).
At least 136 small and subsidiary temples exist inside the sprawling Jagannath temple complex at Puri. Dash allegedly committed the offence in Bamana temple when the minor girl was offering prayers alone. Her parents were waiting outside the temple when she shrieked and ran out of the temple crying.
The girl narrated her plight before parents, who later lodged a complaint at the Singhadwar police station outside Jagannath temple. The police, who detained Dash on Friday night, arrested him on Saturday. The victim’s statement was recorded before a judicial magistrate on Friday evening.
“We took the matter very seriously. All requisite legal actions were promptly taken,” Puri SP Kanwar Vishal Singh said.
(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
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