Man arrested for raping landlord’s minor daughter

The police arrested a man on Monday for allegedly raping the minor daughter of his landlord for several weeks. The matter came to light when the victim was found to be seven months pregnant.

The accused, Mashooq Ahmad, 35, is a native of Jagdishpur town, Amethi district. The victim and her father, who is a daily wage worker, lived in their home under Khandari Bazar police station. Her mother died few years ago and her elder sister was married.

The accused was living as a tenant in the victim’s house for over a year and did petty jobs for a living.

The minor’s pregnancy came to light when her elder sister visited her on Sunday for some work.

The victim’s father and elder sister lodged a complaint, said DK Upadhyay, station house officer, Kaiserbagh, on Sunday.

Taking serious note of the issue, SSP Deepak Kumar constituted a team comprising senior sub-inspector Brijendra Kumar Mishra, sub-inspector Sandeep Kumar Rai and constable Vinay Kumar Singh of Lucknow Police’s surveillance cell to nab the accused.

The team managed to arrest Mashooq Ahmad from near Odeon Cinema on Monday afternoon at around 12.30 pm when he was about to catch a public transport to flee.

“The accused has been arrested under several charges of the IPC, including rape. The POCSO Act has also been imposed on him,” informed Upadhyay.

The accused was sent to jail after being produced in the court.

As the victim is seven months pregnant, doctors have ruled out abortion leaving no option for the hapless victim but to give birth to the child.