Pastor held for sexually exploiting minor girls

The poor girls came to the centre to study, but were abused by the person in charge of their teaching and protection. Over 25 minor girls, who had been visiting the Bethel Student Centre since they could not afford the high cost of education, were sexually exploited by 45-year-old pastor K. Shantharaju. The fear of reprimand by the church made them keep quiet and suffer the ignominy in silence.

The pastor's shameful behaviour came to light recently after his wife Priyalatha made the shocking discovery. She has filed a police complaint against him and accused him of being a paedophile. The accused, who was on the run, was arrested on Saturday. "Pastor Shantharaju of Bethel Church, who has been absconding after his wife Priyalatha registered a complaint against him, was apprehended while he was in transit," the police said. Shantharaju was the pastor of the Bethel Church in Jalahalli, north Bangalore. The church was established 20 years ago by Shantharaju's father. The first such reported incident in Bangalore has left the Christian community here shocked.

"This is a serious case. He has denigrated the noble profession of teaching. Besides, he is a priest. How could he exploit young children? We will take action against him," Karnataka's Home Minister R. Ashoka said. Shantharaju allegedly sexually abused more than two dozen minor girls since 2004. Priyalatha claimed that though she had brought the matter to the notice of the eminent people in the Christian community, no action was taken against her husband. "I was compelled to approach the police after he threatened me and my daughters with dire consequences if I revealed anything about his misdeeds with the minor girls to anyone," she added.

Three girls have admitted to the police that they were sexually abused by Shantharaju. A girl, who has studied at the centre, made a statement to the police that the pastor would take a few girls to his chamber after the evening class ended around 8.30 pm. "He would spend some time inside with a girl, having instructed the others to stand guard. We knew what transpired inside but were afraid of taking on the pastor," she said. Another 17-year-old girl told the police that she stopped visiting the centre after Shantharaju tried to molest her. She even told her parents of the pastor's behaviour, she said. According to the police, Shantharaju was in the habit of taking pictures of the minor girls on his mobile phone. "There are several photographs of him posing with the girls. We are summoning these girls as part of the investigation," a police officer said.