Pastor Arrested For Rape Bid On 12-Year-Old Girl

Tirupathi: A pastor at a local church was caught by villagers while he was trying to rape a minor girl at his house in Kurrakalva Padmanagar in Renigunta mandal in Chittoor district last Sunday.

Panneerselvam(54), who had been a pastor at the village church for a few years, was reportedly forcing the 12-year-old girl, the daughter of a church-going family, for sometime. As the girl refused to yield to his sexual advances, the pastor somehow managed to get the girl into his house when no one was around and offered her a cold drink laced with sedatives. Then he tried to sexually assault her but the girl got to her conscious and shouted for help.

The neighbors who rushed to her rescue caught the pastor red-handed and beat him up and saved the girl. They confined him in the room until police reached the place and handed him over to them.

A panic-stricken girl is reported to have told the police that the pastor was forcing her to have sex with him for a few months. The Gajulamandyam police booked a case and are questioning the accused. Renigunta DSP Nanjundappa said the girl was sent to Ruia hospital in Tirupathi for tests and treatment and an investigation is underway.