Pastor held for alleged human trafficking in Kerala

A pastor of a Perumbavoor-based charitable trust was arrested in connection with the alleged trafficking of minor girls, police said on Thursday.

A case was registered and the arrest of Jacob Varghese, pastor of Karunya Charitable Trust in Ernakulam district, was recorded.

He has been remanded to judicial custody, police sources said, adding that the arrest came following the Wednesday midnight incident in which a group of 12 minor girls was detained by the railway protection force here.

RPF Inspector Upendra Kumar said acting on a tip-off, the railway protection force officials took 12 girls into custody after questioning the enroute of their journey in Okha Express at Calicut Railway Station.

Four adults, two of them claiming to be parents, were also taken into custody. The girls were handed over to the railway police who in turn handed them over to the Child Welfare Committee, he added.