Malaysian Model Says Indian Priest Molested Her: "Said It Would Be Blessing"

An Indian-origin actor and television host has accused a Hindu priest in Malaysia of molesting her under the pretext of blessing her. According to the South China Morning Post, the incident occurred last month at Mariamman Temple in Sepang. It came to light when Lishalliny Kanaran, who is also the winner of Miss Grand Malaysia in 2021, shared the allegations on social media. She accused the priest, an Indian national, of touching her inappropriately after pouring what he claimed was "holy water from India". 

"The suspect is believed to be an Indian national temporarily officiating at the temple during the absence of its resident priest," Sepang district police chief ACP Norhizam Bahaman said, per SCMP. "The suspect's modus operandi was allegedly to sprinkle holy water on the victim's face and body before proceeding to molest her," Norhizam added. 

In her post, Ms Kanaran claimed that the investigating officer warned her against publicising the assault, saying, "If you do, it will be your fault [and] you'll be blamed." However, she chose not to follow his advice, and she took to Instagram to describe the incident in harrowing detail. 

Ms Kanaran alleged that on June 21, she went to a temple alone as her mother was in India. "There's a priest there who would usually guide me through the rituals, since I'm new to all this. I don't know much, and I've always appreciated his help," she recalled. "On that day, while I was praying, he approached me and told me he had some holy water and a protective string to tie for me; a blessing, he said. He asked me to see him after my prayers," she wrote. 

The actress then waited for the priest for over an hour as the priest continued blessing other devotees. He asked her to follow him to his private office, where he then molested her. 

Ms Kanaran claimed that the priest first splashed her with a "very strong-smelling liquid" that stung her eye and then groped her chest. He allegedly told her to undress, insisting "it was 'for my good,'" she said. But when she refused, the priest scolded her for wearing tight clothes.

Things took a distressing turn when the priest stood behind her and put his hands inside her blouse and started touching her inappropriately. "He said it would be a 'blessing' if I did 'it' with him because he serves God," she wrote. "My brain knew everything about that moment was wrong and yet I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I froze. And I still don't understand why," she said.

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Ms Kanaran said that the incident felt especially acute because the assault took place at a temple - a place she had visited seeking peace. "That was where it happened, at a temple. That betrayal is what cuts the deepest. I won't go into more detail. But I was MOLESTED by that priest. And I couldn't react," she said.

The beauty pageant winner said that the incident left her feeling disgusted and traumatised. She filed a police complaint against the priest on July 4. However, she said that when they went to the temple, the priest had already fled. "Someone had already reported him before for the same thing, and yet no action had been taken," she said, accusing the temple management of a cover-up to save their own name rather than helping her.

Malaysian police have launched a manhunt for the priest. An investigation is ongoing. 
 

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