The Kerala police arrested a priest on Tuesday for allegedly sexually abusing a 10-year-old school girl inside a church, PTI reports.

The girl had gone to the Church for taking Bible lessons when the crime allegedly took place, the police said. 

Father Devaraj (65), of Kandanthitta CSI church is the accused and he will be produced before a magistrate later in the evening, the report says. 

Police said that a case under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and section 376 of IPC (rape) has been registered against the priest. 

The girl’s father allegedly saw the accused harassing his daughter and informed the police.  

Police said that the accused has been working as a priest in the church for the past one year. 

This is a developing story.

Earlier this year, the case of a Kerala priest who allegedly raped and impregnated a minor girl had grabbed headlines, after he managed to hide the crime for months. 

Police finally arrested Father Robin Vadakkanchery on February 28 after he confessed to the crime. 

Father Robin was posted at the Church run by Catholic Diocese of Mananthavady (Wayanad) in Kannur district almost two-and-a-half years ago, and also served as the manager of a school attached to the church where the girl was a student. 

The girl later gave birth to a baby boy on February 7 at a private hospital in Kannur. Police said that she was admitted to the hospital after she complained of stomach pain, and she delivered the baby. The girl’s parents had kept her in the dark about her delivery and told her that she was operated on for appendix.