A young woman in her twenties stepped forward to file a complaint with the police, expressing concern for the safety of women due to her father’s sexual misconduct. On August 2, a video that quickly went viral on social media captured this bold move.
In the video, the 20-year-old, hailing from Annanagar, Chennai, is seen leaving the Chennai DGP office after lodging a complaint against her father, Moses Chelladurai.
She accused her father, a lawyer and self-proclaimed preacher, of betraying numerous women by masquerading as a devout religious figure and impregnating them.
According to her, her parents’ marriage, which began as a love match, had been fraught with significant issues. Her father, who runs a business while pretending to be a preacher, used his position to engage in illicit relationships with several women. Despite his repeated infidelities, the family had forgiven him multiple times.
“1000 பெண்களை திருமணம் செய்வேன்,
யாரும் தடுக்க முடியாது” – வழக்கறிஞர்
மதபோதகர் மோசஸ் செல்லதுரை #Chennai #annanagar pic.twitter.com/n2paU99VyA— K.A.R.Paranthaman B.A..LL.B (Modi Ka Parivar) (@KarParanthaman) August 2, 2024
The situation escalated when her father married another nun while attending a pastorship course, prompting her mother to leave him. However, the separation between her parents was never formalised.
The complainant has disclosed that her father, leveraging his legal profession, was approached by her friend’s family seeking legal assistance. She alleges that her father exploited the situation, including a 24-year-old woman, leading to further illicit relationships and children.
She claims her father purchased a fake pastor’s certificate for 30,000 rupees and has continued his affairs since her mother left, taking advantage of the women’s fear of coming forward.
கல்யாணம் பண்ண சொன்ன கடவுள்.. கர்ப்பமாக்குவதே முழுநேர வேலை – சென்னை பாஸ்டரின் அந்தரங்க லீலைகள்
#chennai #dgp #police #daughter #father #pastor #thanthitv pic.twitter.com/n6ZOdI1hZy
— Thanthi TV (@ThanthiTV) August 2, 2024
Determined to seek justice, the daughter has filed a complaint, demanding her father’s arrest to prevent further exploitation of other women. She expressed concern that, if he remained free, he would continue to exploit and impregnate many women.
The police received the complaint and issued her a CSR slip. In response, Moses Chelladurai has accused his daughter of filing the complaint to extort Rs 25 lakhs from him. He insists that only a fair investigation will prove his innocence. Critics have previously suggested that pastorships can be exploited for sexual assaults, with religious piety being used to manipulate nuns and laity.
For example, in March 2023, a 30-year-old Syro Malankara Catholic Church Priest, Fr Benedict Anto, was arrested in Tamil Nadu for sexual assault and harassment of several women. In other cases, a 54-year-old pastor, S Devairakkam, was arrested in Kancheepuram district for sexually abusing a minor girl who had been living at the church grounds.
Another pastor, S Selvaraj, was arrested in Tirunelveli district for sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl. In a high-profile case in Kerala, a nun accused a 45-year-old bishop of raping her 13 times between 2014 and 2016.
Although he was arrested in 2018, he was later acquitted. These incidents are not isolated, with many similar cases occurring in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere.
