The Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday arrested the chief priest of a temple in Ayodhya for allegedly holding a woman devotee hostage and raping her repeatedly, PTI reported.

Ayodhya Police Circle Officer AK Sav said a 30-year-old woman from Varanasi had visited the temple on December 24 to take lessons on spirituality from chief priest Krishna Kantacharya. Kantacharya allegedly offered the woman a place to stay on the temple’s premises where he held her hostage and raped her several times.

Sav said the woman managed to call the police on Tuesday, after which she was rescued and sent for a medical examination.