KHUNTA KHERA (INDIA)
Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News) [Hong Kong]
February 19, 2026
By Bijay Kumar Minj
Case ‘driven by mixed motives, some of which may not be related to student welfare,’ says Franciscan priest
A Catholic priest serving as a school principal was assaulted by parents and later arrested by police in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, after molestation complaints were made against him by several students.
Father Arisher Joseph, the principal of St. Francis School in Khuntakheda, Rampur district, was arrested on Feb. 16, but released the same day after being granted bail.
The First Information Report recorded by the police mentions that the case came to light after parents noticed that their children were “hesitant and fearful” about going to school.
When questioned, many students alleged that Joseph would call them individually to his office about mistakes made or misbehavior in classrooms. It is alleged he would inappropriately touch them, saying this was “a form of punishment to discipline them.”
The police report said things came to a head when a group of angry parents went to the school on Feb. 16, after news of the allegations spread.
A tense situation prevailed on the school campus, and soon turned chaotic as some of the parents assaulted the principal. The police arrived and brought the situation under control.
Father Shinoj, a member of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance (TOR), which runs the school, said that the case against Joseph “appeared to be driven by mixed motives, some of which may not be related to student welfare.”
The priest, who goes by a single name, said that while any concerns about corporal punishment should be addressed through proper legal channels, allegations of inappropriate touching are extremely serious and deeply disturbing.
“Such claims,” Shinoj told UCA News, “require a careful and impartial investigation and should not be decided through public outrage or mob pressure.”
He noted that only two or three among the mob happened to be parents, while the rest were outsiders, including individuals connected with rival institutions.
“Their primary demand was the removal of Father Joseph,” Shinoj said.
He said Joseph is the founding principal of the school and has played a key role in its steady growth and building the trust of local families and suggested that the institution’s progress may have unsettled certain vested interests.
Bishop Bhaskar Jesuraj of Meerut told UCA News that the situation had been tense, but was now under control, and Joseph had returned to his residence.
He explained that the school falls under the Diocese of Meerut and is managed by the Franciscan Fathers, adding that it is one of the most reputed institutions in the area.
Jesuraj though expressed concern that anti-social elements may have been involved in the incident, claiming that “some groups do not want missionary schools operating in the area.”
He also confirmed that those who attacked the principal were not parents, but outsiders.
The bishop suspected the incident was an attempt to damage the reputation of Christian missionaries, and disrupt peace in the area.
Meerut diocese covers civil districts in two northern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Most of the people are Hindus and Muslims.
Christians are mostly poor and live in the villages.