[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha has condemned the actions of the Berbician Pandit who allegedly raped a young woman as part of a “rite”.
The Sabha wishes to categorically state that Hinduism does not at all promote any of the activities alluded to in the news reports and that the perpetrator of this heinous act should face the full force of the law.
“Dharmic Sabha would like to appeal to Hindus and others not to be duped by persons pretending to heal or cure ailments. We advise, as we have done in the past, that persons who are ill should seek medical attention and not be prey to those who would exploit them under ‘religious’ pretexts,” a press statement noted.
The Sabha urges all pandits to conduct themselves in a dignified manner where their life and practices could withstand scrutiny and be above reproach.
Meanwhile, Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence, on learning of the distasteful act perpetrated by the Pandit of No. 60 Village, Upper Corentyne, is abhorred and strongly condemns the Pandit’s actions.
According to a statement, “The Minister further intimates that it is lamentable that a personality, held in such high esteem in the community and in whom confidence is entrusted should not only betray that trust but abuse his power of authority by taking advantage of an ill teenager. The Minister states that perpetrators of such acts would not be sheltered by the Ministry of Social Protection which will spare no efforts to ensure that such lawless behavior is curbed and dealt with accordingly.”
See original article below:
Police are investigating the alleged rape of a No. 60 village Corentyne woman by a Pandit. The religious leader on Sunday night (July 05) went to the family’s house to perform prayers, after the girl has been unwell for some time now.
iNews was reliably informed that the girl’s father caught the man engaging in sexual intercourse with her after he had peeped through a room to see what the Pandit was doing, after spending quite a long time alone with the victim.
The leader was therein caught by members of the family and later handed over to the police. iNews was informed that the man has been released on $100,000 station bail. He is expected to face charges soon.
According to information reaching iNews, after the Pandit arrived at the house, he asked the family for privacy to perform the prayer, which according to Hindu beliefs’ cures “bad eye.”
The Pandit reportedly collected a bottle of Tequila, indicating that he needed it to be a part of the ritual; however he reportedly deceived the family and forced his 22 – year – old victim to join him in drinking it.
An hour later, he called the family upstairs and told them he needed to perform more prayers. A family member told iNews that when they returned upstairs, they noticed the Pandit perspiring and he told the family he is tired.
The family stated too that he used the washroom and removed his pants and stayed with his “trousers” before returning to “pray” for the girl. However, due to the stillness of the atmosphere, the father secretly went upstairs and caught the religious leader in the act.
He reportedly told the family that he is unaware of what had gotten into him and did not know what he was doing. The still traumatized victim reportedly told her mother she made several calls but the religious leader covered her mouth with a pillow. She was also given cigarettes to smoke during the ordeal.
The incident occurred at approximately 21:45 hrs Sunday night and lasted until 01:30 hrs the next morning.
Ms Naione you either missed the whole point of my blog or your head is in the sand. My offering was not about race per say it was about PERCEPTION and about the proclivity of some in our society to generalize. If you missed my point it was about a call to be fair and not to paint all members of another ethnic group with a broad brush as was done within my hearing in the U.S. No question what was done to this young person deserves to see this religious perp facing some long jail time however the damage will last a long time. Before you judge read and digest first ms
naiome. And to the person who did just that thank you for bring honest .
Ms Naiome, you are spouting your venom at the wrong person. It should be to the Pandit who raped that sweet, little innocent child. And, as a matter of fact, what Claudeston Massiah has stated about that guy in the US, is the mindset of some residents of Richmond Hill, in Queens, New York, and even here in Guyana. For them, every person of Indian heritage is a saint and every person of African heritage is a devil; and you know that is what some people say openly, even though is NOT so – and a BIG LIE.
Condemnation of the actions of this rapist Pandit is not enough,The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha needs to publish his name and photograph and strip him of his service and duties as a pandit. He should no longer be a Pandit
This man is no longer a religious leader or Pandit he is a RAPIST. He should be called a rapist stripped of his duties and be imprisoned . This is what continue to happen to innocent people who entrust their life and safety to these religious people who continue to abuse their members.
An investigation should also be done to determine how many more innocent women/men are being abused by so called religious leaders every day sexually and if these people are still practicing in their religion. I am sure this is not the first time this rapist has committed this act. Some innocent people may not be so lucky that family do check on their family member when in private presence of these so called religious people or some may not want to report it.
He is a RAPIST and how many others may have been victimize by him.
A 6 yr old girl got raped and you are here talking about race..What the hell bro?
Well, Well, well, it seems like not only Afro Guyanese particularly the youth commit these distasteful crimes but respectable pristine members of the community do so as well. Point here to the racist viewing our society thru rose colored lenses- people are people race or ethnicity has nothing to do with their proclivity to crime. My own experience in the U.S the Guyanese Indian male who said as loudly as he could in my hearing ” All them Black People are thieves” Of course I wanted to respond or better deck him but decided against that action as it was clear that fool did not know any better.