National Commission for Women directs Kerala Police chief to conduct probe in sexual abuse case against priests

New Delhi: The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Wednesday directed Kerala police chief Lokanath Behera to conduct a probe into the case involving blackmail and sexual abuse of a woman by five priests in the state. [caption id=“attachment_4467069” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Getty Images[/caption] Five priests of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Kerala have been accused of blackmailing and sexually abusing a woman. The issue came to light last week after an audio clip containing the man’s purported conversation with a church official alleging sexual abuse of his wife by the priests was widely circulated on social media. The man from Pathanamthitta district alleged that some priests allegedly used his wife’s secret confession to blackmail her. Taking suo-motu cognisance of it, the NCW has written to Director General of Police Behera and directed him to conduct an investigation into the matter and apprise the commission about action taken.