Man held for raping his domestic help in Lucknow

A 41-year-old man was arrested allegedly for raping his 24-year-old domestic help after holding her captive at his Vigyanpuri residence in Mahanagar on Wednesday night. The accused also injured the woman with a knife when she tried to resist him.

Inspector of Mahanagar police station Vikas Pandey said the accused, Love Sharma, was arrested when the woman managed to free herself early on Thursday morning and approached the police. He said the accused had been sent to jail after producing in court while the woman had been sent for medical examination.

He said the accused, who is unmarried, had earlier worked as a hotelier but closed the business after facing loss and was presently unemployed. The inspector added that the accused stayed along with his father RK Sharma, a retired government official, after his mother passed away few years ago.

“The accused’s father was on a tour for last few days and he was alone in the house. He took advantage of the situation and when the woman visited the house to cook the evening meal on Wednesday, he held her captive. He raped the woman by threatening her. The woman suffered stab wounds when the accused placed the knife on her neck on facing resistance,” the inspector said.

The woman alleged that the accused had made physical advances at her even in the past and was pressuring her to marry him. She said the accused again pressured her for marriage and got aggressive when she turned down his proposal.

She said she was raped twice in six hours of captivity and was threatened with dire consequences. She sneaked out of the house when the accused was deep asleep, she added.

In the FIR registered on the basis of woman’s complaint, the accused had been booked under IPC sections 376 for rape, 342 for illegal confinement, 326 for causing voluntarily hurt and 506 for criminal intimidation, the inspector said and added, further investigating was on in the matter.