Indian priest molests beauty queen in Malaysian temple: ‘He put his hands inside my blouse’

Malaysian police have launched a manhunt for an Indian priest accused of molesting beauty queen and actress Lishalliny Kanaran under the pretext of performing a religious blessing. The incident allegedly occurred on June 21 at the Mariamman Temple in Sepang, near Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

According to Sepang district police chief ACP Norhizam Bahaman, the suspect—an Indian national—was temporarily officiating at the temple while the resident priest was abroad.

The incident came to light after Lishalliny, winner of Miss Grand Malaysia 2021, shared her ordeal in an Instagram post earlier this week. She wrote that she had gone to the temple alone for prayers when the priest offered to bless her with holy water and a protective thread. After waiting for more than an hour, she was asked to follow him into his private office, where the alleged assault occurred.

Inside the room, Lishalliny said the priest doused her with strong-smelling holy water, made disturbing comments about her clothing, and then allegedly molested her by putting his hands inside her blouse. “My brain knew everything about that moment was wrong, and yet I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I froze,” she wrote.

The beauty queen said she remained in shock for days before confiding in her mother, who had been away in India at the time. A police report was filed on July 4. However, by then, the accused had fled. Authorities now believe he may have a history of similar complaints and are investigating whether earlier warnings to temple officials went unaddressed.

ACP Norhizam confirmed the suspect’s modus operandi involved using holy water as a pretext for assault. “He allegedly sprinkled holy water on the victim’s face and body before proceeding to molest her,” he told Malay Mail.

Police investigations are ongoing, and the suspect remains at large.