Priest booked for raping minor relative

Ballia (Uttar Pradesh), March 7 (IANS) Mahant Mouni Baba of the Khaira Mutt in Ballia district has been booked for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl.The FIR was registered against the Mahant under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the orders of a court, passed on January 3.Ubhawn police station in-charge Gyaneshwar Mishra said, the court order was received late, leading to the delay in filing the FIR.The case is being investigated.The victim, meanwhile, told reporters that the Mahant 'is a close relative' and after her father's death, he had brought her to the mutt for teaching her. He had been raping her for the last five years.The girl said that after her repeated requests to police for justice had failed, she moved the court seeking FIR against the chief priest of the mutt.
--IANS amita/pgh