The Rural Police registered cases against a 42-year old pastor for allegedly sexually exploiting about 17 women in the past four years, at Payakaraopeta in Visakhapatnam district.
The incident came to light when one of a woman escaped from his clutches and approached the police and lodged a complaint, late on Thursday night.
According to police, the pastor A. Anil Kumar alias Prem Das, a native of Vijayawada, had come to Payakaraopeta in 2017. In 2018, he established a trust named ‘Prema Swaroopi Ministries’. He then allegedly lured around 17 women from various places in the name of giving spiritual discourse and lodged them on the trust premises at Payakaraopeta.
The pastor since then had been allegedly sexually exploiting the woman for the past four years, the victim stated in her complaint. The victim also stated that the pastor used to threaten them by saying that their family would face dire consequences, if they tried to leave the trust premises. Apart from the women, there were seven boys who have been kept there forcibly and made to work as slaves and were also tortured, she informed the police.
The Payakaraopeta police questioned the women in the trust. But sources in the police say that the women were in some kind of trance and are unable to give answers. The police opined that the pastor might have inflicted fear among the women. In the primary investigation, police also learnt that Anil Kumar had made huge money from many people in the name of God.
Additional SP, Narsipatnam, D Manikanta inspected the trust and said that the police were enquiring about the facts.
The Payakaraopeta Police have registered cases under relevant sections. The complainant was sent to Anakapalle hospital for medical tests. No arrests were made in the case till Friday evening.
TDP seeks action
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) mahila wing president V. Anitha visited the trust at Payakaraopeta on Friday and spoke with the women. Condemning the incident, she demanded that the the police arrest the pastor immediately and initiate strict action.
