Kasaragod: Fr Paul Thattuparambil, former vicar of St Paul Church at Athirummavu in the hill panchayat of West Eleri, surrendered before a sessions court in Kasaragod on Saturday, 50 days after he was booked for repeatedly sodomising a 16-year-old boy.
Additional Sessions Judge II Priya K remanded Fr Thattuparambil in judicial custody for two weeks.

Chittarikkal Station House Officer - Inspector Ranjith Raveendran said an FIR was registered against the priest on June 6 under Section 377 of the IPC for sodomy, and Section 5 (l) and 6 of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for repeated penetrative sexual assault.

As soon as the case was registered, he went into hiding.

However, two days after the case was registered against the priest -- and a week before it became public -- the Church removed him as the vicar of St Paul Church and also prohibited him from preaching and celebrating the Holy Mass.

In a statement dated July 8, Archbishop Joseph Pamplany of Tellicherry said: "Taking into consideration the seriousness and scandalous nature of the allegation of child abuse... I, Archbishop of Tellicherry... remove Rev Fr Paul Thattuparambil from the office of the Vicar of the above-mentioned parish with immediate effect."

In addition, he is suspended from exercising his priestly ministry, including the celebration of the Holy Sacraments and preaching of the Word of God in public, either inside or outside the Archdiocese of Tellicherry, the statement said.

"This suspension and prohibition will remain in force until... he is declared innocent," it said.

The Chittarikkal SHO said that the police issued a lookout notice against the priest with his passport details to prevent him from fleeing abroad. "Later, we published the notice in newspapers," said Inspector Raveendran.

Meanwhile, the priest approached the Kasaragod Sessions Court and the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail. "Both the court rejected his plea. That's why he surrendered today," the officer said on Saturday.

According to the complaint, Fr Thattuparambil, a native of Ernakulam, allegedly took the boy, a class XI student, to his parsonage, and also other places, and sodomised him between May 15 and August 13, 2024. The officer said the police were tipped off by the Childline.

The crime came to light during a counselling session held at the boy's school. The counsellors immediately informed Childline.

During the investigation, the SHO said, police added two more sections against the priest. The police invoked Section 5 (f) of the POCSO Act because the accused is a staff member of a religious institution, and also sections 11 (2) and 12 of the Act for sexual harassment.

The officer said the police would move the court to seek custody of the priest for further investigation.