Priest, cousin held for molesting pregnant woman in Delhi

A 38-year-old chief priest of a shrine in Uttarakhand and his cousin have been arrested and sent to 14 days' judicial custody for molesting a 28-year-old pregnant woman in a hotel room here, police said Tuesday.

Priest Keshawan Namboodiri and his 33-year-old cousin Vishnu Prakash were arrested Monday evening.

They were presented Tuesday in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Shreya Arora Mehta who sent them to judicial custody till Feb 18.

Police said the two were arrested on charges of wrongful confinement and outraging the modesty of a woman.

According to the police complaint, Namboodiri called the woman Monday evening for conducting some tantric rituals at a hotel room in south Delhi.

"When she entered the room, there were several bottles of beer strewn about in addition to cigarette butts. Namboodiri asked Prakash to stand guard outside and began touching the complainant inappropriately," police said quoting the complainant.

The woman screamed and somehow managed to approach some policemen who reached the hotel and found the two accused in a drunken state, police said.

They were taken to a hospital for medical examination.

Police said the men sent a vehicle to pick up the woman from her residence.

"She belongs to a family that owns a hotel in Uttarakhand. She knew the priest through her father," a police officer said.

Namboodiri and his cousin had arrived in Delhi Feb 2.