John Jebaraj, a pastor from a church based in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, was arrested in Munnar, Kerala, on Saturday evening for allegedly sexually assaulting two minors.
Jebaraj, who is the pastor of Kings Generation Church in Coimbatore, was produced in court today and remanded to judicial custody.
The 37-year-old Jebaraj, a popular figure on social media with lakhs of followers across platforms, had been evading arrest for months.
According to reports, the Central All Women Police Station in Coimbatore tracked the pastor down to Munnar, where he was arrested.
Notably, several teams were tasked with locating the pastor by the Coimbatore City Police. Investigation agencies had also issued a lookout notice against him to prevent him from fleeing the country.
Jebaraj faces charges under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, with specific sections related to aggravated sexual assault reportedly being applied. According to reports, Jebaraj allegedly assaulted the minors during a party at his Coimbatore residence in May last year. The incident came to light when one of the victims recently disclosed the assault to a family member, leading to a complaint being filed at the Central All Women Police Station.
This case surfaces shortly after Bajinder Singh, a pastor from Punjab, was sentenced to life imprisonment in a 2018 rape case. The victim alleged that Singh lured her with promises of overseas travel before raping her at his Mohali residence and then threatened to release recorded footage of the assault on social media.
Accordign to reports, one of the minor girls had submitted a complaint about the abuse to the Child Welfare Committee.
Jebaraj recently petitioned the Madras High Court for anticipatory bail. While denying the accusations, he asserted that they were fabricated by his estranged wife during their ongoing divorce proceedings.
