Overview
- Police arrested Father Cyprian (Siprian) Pinto on Sunday after a formal complaint led officers to detain him at a relative’s house and begin interrogation.
- The complaint says at least five 14-year-old boys reported repeated abuse that included being lured with chocolates, taken to a room near the church sacristy, and inappropriately touched.
- Parents say they first told the Mangaluru diocese in August and that the church set up an internal inquiry and placed the priest on administrative leave instead of reporting the matter to police.
- A Mysuru NGO, Odanadi, took the case to Mangaluru police after parents’ appeals to child protection authorities did not prompt immediate action, leading to an FIR being registered.
- The FIR cites Sections 8 and 9 of the POCSO Act and Section 75(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, victims’ identities are being withheld, and investigators are continuing the criminal probe.