John Jebaraj, a 37-year-old pastor from Coimbatore’s Kings Generation Church, was arrested in Kerala’s Munnar on Saturday (12 April 2025) evening in connection with the alleged sexual assault of two minors. The accused, who has a significant social media following, had been evading arrest for several months before being tracked down by the Central All Women Police Station of Coimbatore.
Jebaraj was produced before a court on Wednesday and remanded to judicial custody. He has been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, with sections related to aggravated sexual assault invoked against him.
The Coimbatore City Police had formed multiple teams to locate Jebaraj after he went underground following the registration of the case. A lookout notice was also issued to prevent him from fleeing the country.
According to police sources, the alleged assaults took place during a party at Jebaraj’s residence in Coimbatore in May 2023. One of the victims recently disclosed the incident to a relative, leading to a formal complaint being filed at the Central All Women Police Station.
Jebaraj had recently approached the Madras High Court seeking anticipatory bail, denying all charges. In his petition, he claimed that his estranged wife was behind the allegations. The couple is currently undergoing divorce proceedings.
The arrest comes days after a Punjab pastor, Bajinder Singh, was sentenced to life imprisonment in a 2018 rape case. Singh had allegedly lured the survivor with promises of taking her abroad before assaulting her at his Mohali home. The survivor had also accused him of recording the act and threatening to leak the video.
A senior police officer confirmed that one minor girl has submitted a complaint to the Child Welfare Committee and that the matter was under investigation.
(With inputs from NDTV)
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