A monk of Bharat Sevashram Sangha is being detained for allegedly trying to rape a 15-year-old girl on the Sonari ashram premises of the charitable non-government organisation on Wednesday evening.

According to a complaint lodged by the teen’s brother at Sonari thana, the monk violated her for three hours in his room before her sister-in-law rescued her from an attached bathroom.

Police are waiting for the girl’s medical report to frame charges against the 54-year-old man. Bharat Sevashram Sangha has called it a conspiracy to malign the organisation.

OC Naresh Prasad Sinha said they found “an element of truth” in the complaint and informed the East Singhbhum district child welfare committee. “Since the victim is a minor, the panel will conduct a preliminary investigation after which we will register a case,” he said.

Committee chairperson Pushpa Tirkey said the girl had recorded her statement before a judicial magistrate on Thursday morning. “She has also told us how the accused tried to rape her in his room on the ashram premises. Once the medical report arrives, we will request the police to frame charges against the monk,” Tirkey said.

Sources said the girl and her family were residents of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. They are in the steel city for the treatment of her brother’s children. Her seven-year-old niece and eight-year-old nephew have cancer, and are under medical supervision at Tata Meherbai Memorial Hospital for a month now. Initially, the family had rented a room at the ashram, but after 10 days they shifted to a rented house in Adarshnagar, Sonari.

The girl has told child welfare committee members that she had had a quarrel with her sister-in-law on Wednesday evening and left the Adarshnagar house.

“Since she was acquainted with the ashram premises, she went there and sat brooding under a tree. The accused saw her and allegedly called her to his room. In the meantime, her sister-in-law started searching for her. Anticipating that she may have gone to the ashram, the sister-in-law went there too,” chairperson Tirkey said.

The monk told her sister-in-law that she was in his bathroom, which is attached to his room on the ground floor of the four-storey building. “The girl was found in a corner of the bathroom, visibly traumatised. On reaching Adarshnagar, she confided in her brother who lodged a complaint with Sonari police around 11pm (Wednesday),” Tirkey added.

The monk was taken into custody for questioning before midnight and is still under detention.

City SP Prabhat Kumar and DSP (HQ-II) Arvind Kumar visited Sonari thana as well as the ashram premises on Thursday morning.

Founded in 1917 by Acharya Srimad Swami Pranavanandji Maharaj, Bharat Sevashram Sangha is recognised for its community service, particularly free healthcare for the poor. It has responded to natural calamities, manmade disasters, political unrest and wars. Currently, the charitable organisations has hundreds of ashrams in India and abroad, including the UK, the US and Canada.

Head of Bharat Sevashram Sangha’s Sonari branch Ajit Maharaj claimed conspiracy. “We suspect the allegations are made up. How could the girl's sister-in-law know that she was in the room of one of our monks. Police have collected the digital video recorder that stores surveillance camera footage. Things will be clear soon,” he said.