Three pastors, identified as Uttam Vairagar, Sanjay Vairagar, and Sunil Vairagar, were arrested by Maharashtra Police on Friday, 16 February, for the sexual assault of two 10-year-old girls from the Sonai area of the Ahmednagar district. The accused pastors at a nearby church repeatedly raped the minors under the pretence of exorcism, and they threatened them to remain silent.

The incident is reportedly in the Sonai region of Ahmednagar, in the Rajwada village. After learning about the incident, the police booked the accused under the appropriate sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The accused has been subjected to about 20 sections, some of which include rape charges.

A Sonai resident named Supriya (name changed for security reasons) has filed the FIR. Supriya’s daughter is one of the girls whom the Pastors have sexually abused; her niece is the other.

According to the complaint, Supriya is a divorcee who resides in Sonai with her parents. One of the locals introduced her to the accused, telling her that if she went to the church to see Pastor Uttam Vairagar and his associates, all her problems would disappear. Supriya makes her living by working as a daily labourer. She resides with her parents, sister, ten-year-old daughter, and a young niece.

Three years ago, Supriya and her husband separated, and she was having difficulty surviving. She was also concerned about her mother’s declining health at the same time. She consented to see the pastor at the nearby church to look for a solution to her mounting personal issues as well as those about her mother’s health.

Following a few trips to the nearby church, Pastor Vairagar recommended Supriya and her mother keep going there regularly. Additionally, he declared that Supriya’s two young daughters were under the influence of evil spirits and that they urgently needed care.

The Christian pastor then tricked the woman into believing that the 10-year-old girls needed to receive treatment in a private, closed space without the presence of anyone else. Supriya was hesitant at first, but she felt more at ease when the pastors showed up at her house to visit her mother and see how she was doing.

Supriya felt uncomfortable when the pastor made inappropriate physical contact with her while claiming to be giving her a blessing. Nevertheless, considering the church authorities’ “religious position,” she did not question their intentions. Subsequently, Supriya was asked by the pastor to bring her daughter and niece to church by themselves. He restated that the young girls were under the influence of demonic spirits, which was the cause of her mother’s declining health, and that they both required urgent one-on-one care.

However, according to the complaint, Supriya trusted the pastor and brought her daughter and niece to the church; after that, the pastor and his friends threatened and sexually molested the girls. Vairagar ordered them to undress and comply with the “treatment,” which included inappropriate physical contact and sexual assault. The pastor asked the girls to keep their mouths shut, threatening them.

The complaint copy states that the minors were led to believe that their grandmother and mother, Supriya, would perish if they spoke to anyone about sexual assault. Additionally, the accused recorded the victim girls being abused on camera and distributed it to others.

Supriya didn’t become aware of the issue until one of the locals showed her the offensive video and forewarned her against taking her daughter and niece to church. When the woman saw the girls on the video being sexually assaulted, she was horrified. When the minors were confronted, they disclosed that the pastor had intimidated them into keeping their mouths shut.

Under sections 376(2), 376(2)(j), 376(2)(n), 376AB, 354A, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the police have filed a complaint against the three. The defendants are also penalised under Sections 3, 4, 5f, 5m, 5l, 6, 7, 8, 9f, 9l, 9m, 10, 11, and 12 of the POCSO. Further investigations into the case are underway.