Goa temple priest booked in second molestation case

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A woman accused a priest of the Mangueshi Temple in Goa of molesting her, the second such complaint against him in a week, police said. The woman, in her 20s, filed a complaint against the priest with the Ponda police, accusing him of molesting her, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Ponda) Mahesh Gaonkar said.

The priest has been booked under IPC section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), he said. According to the complainant, the priest tried to kiss her near the sanctum sanctorum of the temple while she was on a visit to the famous shrine in Ponda taluka, about 20km from Panaji.

The alleged incident took place last month, but the complaint was filed today. Last week, another woman had filed a similar complaint against the priest, police have said. The first incident also allegedly took place last month. In this case, the complainant is a US-based woman of Goa origin, they said.

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