On the intervening night of November 12 and November 13, Kurnool Police arrested Pastor Father Uppalapati Ravindra Prasanna Kumar of Chatthiveedu Gramam Chagallamarri Mandal, District Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, for allegedly sexually harassing two minor SC girls in the Church premises.
The incident took place on October 6, but the complaint was registered by the Police on November 12 only after the intervention by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
The Pastor has been booked under POCSO Act.
OpIndia reached out to Prerna Thiruvaipati, SC-ST Women & Child Rights Activist and Dalit Researcher for details about the case. Thiruvaipati had approached NCPCR as Police was not registering the case and allegedly trying to get the matter settled outside the court of Law.
Prerna said that the incident took place on October 6, 2021, in the Church premises. On October 7, the mothers of the two minor girls, who are 8-year-old and 6-year-old respectively, approached Police to file a complaint against Pastor Ravindra Prasanna Kumar and his female accomplice, who was present inside the Covenant Church at the time of the incident of sexual molestation occurred. Notably, both girls do not have a father.
She added that the Sub-Inspector Maruthi of Chagallamarri Mandal Police Station allegedly refused to file a complaint in the matter. The mothers further alleged that the SI had accepted a bribe of Rs. 1 lakh from the accused. He also tried to pursue the mothers to resolve the matter outside the court of Law.
Prerna came to know about the case on November 12 after they received a video statement of the girls explaining the incident in Telugu. After getting it translated and collecting all the information about the case, Prerna approached NCPCR via email. NCPCR took cognizance of the matter on November 12 itself and directed Kurnool Police to arrest the Pastor immediately. The Kurnool Police arrested the Pastor on the intervening night of November 12 and November 13 at around 1:30 AM from his residence near Settiveedu Bus Stand.
Notably, Pastor Uppalapati Ravindra Prasanna Kumar was recently appointed as the District President of Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, to the National Christian Board Andhra Pradesh State.
Legal Rights Protection Forum and SC-ST Rights Forum had worked closely in the backdrop on the case. In a tweet quoting SC-ST Rights Forum, LRPF said, “Pastor Uppalapati Ravindra Prasanna Kumar was arrested u/s of POCSO Act for sexually harassing innocent minor SC girls in his Church.”
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