Lutheran pastor arrested for reported murder of young girl

A pastor of a Lutheran church was last week arrested for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl and setting her ablaze in his house.

Pastor Dasi Ajay Babu was arrested by the police after his domestic help died of severe burns at the Guntur General Hospital.

Ajay Babu is a pastor with the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church.

According to reports, Ajay Babu had allegedly forced his maid to have sex with him saying he would marry her. Problems began when she began pressing for marriage.

After revealing that he was already married, he along with his wife reportedly set the maid on fire.

Meanwhile, the pastor denied the charges and told media that the girl had set herself on fire to commit suicide. He also said he had burnt his hands while trying to save her.

The girl's parents however said their daughter had told them before dying that she was sexually exploited by the pastor for the past one year.

It was when she threatened to inform her parents, she was allegedly beaten up and later set ablaze.

According to India Today, the pastor's family had forced the girl to give a declaration to the magistrate that she had suffered burns while cooking in the house.

But the girl's parents say the declaration was given under force. They gave an official complaint on this to the Guntur (rural) superintendent of police.