Sexual harassment at temple: Indian priest molests beauty queen, says it's a blessing to ‘do it' with him

Mint

3 days ago

Lishalliny Kanaran recently opened up about an incident allegedly involving a priest. The Malaysian beauty queen, model and TV host has been visiting a temple to reconnect spiritually. On 21 June, while her mother was in India, she went to the temple alone.
A priest who usually guided her through the rituals offered to bless her with holy water and a protective string. He asked her to wait as the temple was crowded.
After nearly 90 minutes, he told her to follow him to an office. Although she felt uneasy, she trusted him because of his past guidance.
In the office, the priest splashed her face with a strong-smelling liquid. He claimed it was a rare water from India. Then, he asked for something that made her totally uncomfortable.
'Then he asked me to lift my Punjabi suit. I refused. He kept insisting it was 'for my good', but I told him I couldn't because my blouse was tight. He got angry and scolded me, asking what kind of person dresses tight like that,' Kanaran wrote on Instagram.
While he stood behind her, the priest continued chanting. Suddenly, he touched her inappropriately.
'He said it would be a 'blessing' if I did 'it' with him because he serves God,' she wrote.
'I won't go into more detail. But I was MOLESTED by that priest. And I couldn't react. When I finally managed to run, he said something like, 'This week will be a lucky week for you. I've done this for you',' she posted.
On 4 July, she finally told her mother, who informed the rest of the family. That same day, they went to the police and filed a report.
When they visited the temple, the management seemed more concerned about the temple's name than her safety. She learned that someone had already complained about the same priest before, but no action had been taken.
The temple chairman claimed he knew little about the priest and even tried to downplay the matter. The investigating officer reportedly warned her not to post anything online. He said she would be blamed if she did.
'I'm not writing this to victimise myself. I'm writing this to voice out so that anyone else who has gone through something like this knows. You are not to blame. You did nothing wrong. And if you ever need someone, I'm here. You are not alone,' Lishalliny Kanaran posted.
Meanwhile, Malaysian police have started a manhunt for the accused, who is currently missing. According to Sepang district police chief Norhizam Bahaman, the suspect is an Indian who worked at the temple while the resident priest was absent.