KERALA (INDIA)
bdnews24.com

February 17, 2019

A Catholic priest in Kerala, who is accused of sexually assaulting a Bangladeshi woman based in the UK, has surrendered to the police.

He has also been booked for extorting money from the woman in a complaint file by her, according to media reports.

The priest was produced in a court in Vaikkom and remanded to a 14-day judicial custody, police told local media.

Father Thomas Thanninilkkumthadathil, in his 40s, is accused of raping the 42-year-old woman after befriending her through Facebook, the Bangalore Mirror and Indian Express reported.

The victim, a dual citizen of Bangladesh and Britain, had come to Kottayam from the UK and stayed as the priest’s guest at the parsonage for about a week in January this year.