A Christian priest running an ashram at Radhanpur village in North Gujarat has been arrested and sent to judicial custody for allegedly molesting a tribal woman.

Fr Prasad Gonsalves, a Catholic priest in charge of the ashram, has allegedly lured the woman belonging to the Bhil tribe with housing benefits. The ashram had initiated a low-cost housing project for the poor people of the area. The woman, residing at Jawaharnagar village, had sought housing assistance from Fr Prasad under the scheme.

Since the scheme was already over, Fr Prasad asked her to wait for a few more days till the next scheme came into effect. Peeved with the denial, she approached the local police alleging that the priest tried to molest her when she approached him for the housing assistance.

Prashant Cedric Prakash, the Director of a human rights body based in Ahmedabad, described the allegations as flimsy and fabricated and claimed that the woman was an extortionist. He said her own brother Ishwar Rana also supported the view saying his sister had been indulging in antisocial activities for a long time.

Prakash condemned the arrest of the Catholic priest and said the arrest was done because ‘he is a Christian’ and demanded his immediate release.