Budaun (UP): The priest, who is the main accused in the alleged gangrape of an anganwadi worker in this Uttar Pradesh district, was quizzed throughout Thursday night after his arrest in a late-night crackdown that ended his five-day run. The ‘mahant’, Satya Narayan, was hiding in a forest area near the house of one of his followers in a village under the Ughaiti police station. He was picked up from there, the police said. The gangrape and the murder of the anganwadi worker has sent shockwaves throughout India.
The priest, who is in his 50s, was immediately arrested and interrogated by a police team. Four teams were formed to nab the accused, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sankalp Sharma said. The priest will be taken for a medical examination Friday and produced before a local court for seeking remand.
The 50-year-old woman, who had gone to a temple, was found dead under mysterious circumstances Sunday. Her family members accused the temple priest and his accomplices of raping and killing her.
A case was registered against the accused and two of them were arrested on Tuesday night. The priest was absconding for almost five days before he was held.
The incident triggered an opposition outcry and a comparison with Delhi’s 2012 Nirbhaya case after the post-mortem report confirmed rape, a broken rib cage, a fractured leg and injuries in the private parts of the victim.
The incident took place on Sunday and the matter came to light that night itself when the priest and his accomplices took the body of the victim to her house, saying it was found in a dry well on the temple premises.
The FIR was registered Tuesday after an autopsy confirmed rape and the two accomplices of the priest were nabbed.