Kerala Catholic priest accused of rape surrenders

Vaikom (Kerala), Feb 16 (IANS) A Kerala Catholic priest against whom a Bangladeshi-born British passport holder had lodged a complaint of rape and robbery surrendered at a court near here on Friday, police said.

T. Thomas , 35, was the vicar of St Mathew's Church in Kottayam district and was on the run after the 42-year-old woman filed a police complaint.

She alleged that she was raped by the vicar and she lost her properties when the two were together at a resort in Kumarkom this month.

Speaking to IANS, an official at the Kaduthuruthi police station said Thomas had been remanded to judicial custody.

The woman was on her first visit to Kerala and was with Thomas for a few days when she was raped. She returned to England and came back to Kerala early this month when the two was at a resort in Kumarakom, said the official who did not wish to be identified by name.

The church has taken disciplinary action against Thomas and has told the police that they will cooperate with the probe.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)