Kerala priest, accused of raping foreigner, surrenders [Video]

Catholic priest Thomas Thanninilkkum Thadathil, 35, was the vicar of St Mathew's Church at Kallara in Kottayam, and has been on the run.  The Bangladeshi woman alleged that she was raped by the vicar and she lost some valuable properties when the two were together at a resort. The church has taken disciplinary action against Thomas and has told the police that they will cooperate with the probe.

A Keralite priest, against whom a foreign woman had lodged a complaint of rape and robbery, surrendered at a court near Kottayam on Friday.

Catholic priest Thomas Thanninilkkum Thadathil, 35, was the vicar of St Mathew's Church at Kallara in Kottayam, and has been on the run after the 42-year-old woman filed a police complaint.

The Bangladeshi-born British citizen alleged that she was raped by the vicar and she lost some valuable properties when the two were together at a resort in Kumarakom this month.

According 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.

(With agency inputs)