July 28, 2025 11:11 am (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
'I feel sad to support such a govt': Chirag Paswan slams Bihar administration after woman 'gang-raped' in Bodh Gaya | Bihar woman gang-raped in moving ambulance after she fell unconscious during Home Guard Test | Operation Sindoor still on, preparedness level should be high: CDS Anil Chauhan | PM Modi tops list of global leaders with 75 percent approval rating, Donald Trump languishes at 8th place | President Murmu, PM Modi pay tributes to martyrs' on Kargil Vijay Diwas | Jagdeep Dhankar's resignation: Election Commission initiates steps for Vice President elections | Centre bans Ullu, ALTT, other OTT apps over obscene content | Centre bans Ullu, ALTT, other OTT apps over obscene content | Deeply touched by Muizzu's gesture, writes Narendra Modi on X after arriving in Male | Tejashwi Yadav mulls boycotting Bihar polls over SIR, says 'no point in holding elections when people can't vote'
Lishalliny Kanaran in the picture. Photo: Lishalliny Kanaran/Instagram

'He said it would be a blessing': Indian-origin actor-host accuses Hindu priest of molestation in Malaysia

| @indiablooms | Jul 10, 2025, at 01:49 pm

New Delhi/IBNS: Indian-origin actor and television host Lishalliny Kanaran has accused a Hindu priest in Malaysia of molesting her and touching her inappropriately on the pretext of blessing her, media reports said.

Lishalliny recounted her experience from June 21 when she went to the Mariamman Temple in Sepang alone as her mother was in India.

In an Instagram post, Lishalliny alleged the priest was splashing "holy water" from India on her face and then he asked her to lift her Punjabi suit.

When she refused, the priest allegedly put his hands inside her clothes and touched inappropriately.

A few excerpts of her Instagram post reads, "... There’s a priest there who would usually guide me through the rituals, since I’m new to all this. I don’t know much, and I’ve always appreciated his help. On that day, while I was praying, he approached me and told me he had some holy water and a protective string to tie for me; a blessing, he said. He asked me to see him after my prayers."

She added, "Just like he said, once I finished praying, I went to him. It was a Saturday, so the temple was crowded. He was the only one doing the individual blessings and rituals, so he told me to wait. I waited for about an hour and a half. Eventually, he told me to follow him. He took the holy water and the string and walked toward the office. Even as I followed, something didn’t feel right. Something in my gut was uneasy.

"Inside the office, he asked me to sit while he stood. He poured something, a very strong-smelling liquid, like rose or flower essence into the holy water. He said it was from India, and that they don’t usually give it to 'ordinary people'. He kept splashing that water on my face, so much that my eyes stung and I couldn’t even open them."

She continued, "Then he asked me to lift my Punjabi suit. I refused. He kept insisting it was “for my good,” but I told him I couldn’t because my blouse was tight. He got angry and scolded me asking what kind of person dresses tight like that. He splashed the water again and stood behind me.

"He kept murmuring something I couldn’t understand — prayers, maybe — and suddenly, he held my head and continued murmuring while touching me. Then, without warning, he put his hands inside my blouse, into my bra, and started touching me inappropriately. He said it would be a “blessing” if I did “it” with him because he serves God."

Lishalliny said she narrated the incident to her mother on July 4 and a police complaint was lodged on the same day.

She further alleged that the temple management was only caring about the temple name. The priest, the complainant claimed, was also accused of similar action by someone else.

The priest was not present when the actress went to the temple with the complaint.

The 2021 Miss Grand Malaysia winner said the probe officer seemed to take the temple chairman's side and warned her of getting blamed if she published the incident online.

Sepand District Police Chief ACP Norhizam Bahaman said as quoted by NDTV, "The suspect is believed to be an Indian national temporarily officiating at the temple during the absence of its resident priest."

The suspect's modus operandi was allegedly to sprinkle holy water on the victim's face and body before proceeding to molest her," Bahaman added.

The search for the priest is underway.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Close menu