Yavatmal, April 19: The Wadgaon Road police on Tuesday evening booked Atique Mohammad Khan (52), a judge of the district labour court, for allegedly raping his domestic help. The cops have also booked Khan under the Prevention of Atrocity (SC/ST) Act. Till the filing of the report, the accused was not arrested.
According to police officer Sarjerao Gaikwad, the victim (40) who hails from Pune, lodged a complaint against the judge alleging that he exploited her sexually on the pretext of marrying her.
She also accused Khan insulting her, criminal intimidation and illegal confinement at his Yavatmal residence. "We heard the woes of the woman and since the case involves a judge, we sought advise from the chief principal district and sessions judge Bashir Sheikh and government pleader PB Gaidbile before registering a criminal offence," said Sarjerao, adding that he booked the accused under sections 343,376, 294, 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.
Since the victim belongs to the scheduled caste (cobbler), we booked the accused under different provisions of the prevention of atrocity (SC/ST) Act. Sarjerao added that the accused could not be arrested as he moved out of Yavatmal probably to seek anticipatory bail. The complainant is a resident of Ganeshpeth in Pune. Khan was also in Pune before he joined the legal service. He is married. His wife is a teacher in a Pune school.
The victim is married and has two children from her deceased husband. She has been working as a maid at Khan's residence since ten years.
Taking undue advantage of the widow, Khan started sexually exploiting her on the pretext of marrying her and taking care of her kids.
In 2007, Khan was posted at Gondia as judge of the district labour court. He moved out of Pune with the victim and was in Gondia for three years. In 2010, Khan was transferred to Yavatmal and the duo stayed in a flat on Godhani Road. In June, when she insisted Khan marry her, the accused took her to Pune and left her at her mother's house. She was confined to the house when she returned on April 11. When the victim returned to Yavatmal to take her belongings, Khan confined her to his flat and raped her. She somehow managed to escape and approached the police.
She narrated her story to PSO Gaikwad but he refused to take action as the complaint was not in writing.
It is learnt that the woman even requested the police to provide her an escort to Pune as she feared for her life but there was no response from Gaikwad.
Finally, with the help of a lawyer, she drafted a complaint and lodged the same with the police who in turn booked the Judge.
Sub divisional police officer (SDPO) Lata Fad confirmed the incident and said that she is investigating the matter. She also informed that the woman was referred to the government medical college for a medical examination. The report is awaited.
On the progress of the investigation, Fad said that since there is an offence under the Atrocity Act, she has to go into the details. She added that the judge has not been arrested.
In her complaint, the victim stated that she also informed the wife of the accused about the sexual exploitation in Pune. The accused's wife allegedly advised her not to make the incident public but gave her the nod to marry her husband. Police said that this could be the reason why Khan's wife allowed the victim to live with her husband in Gondia while she remained in Pune.
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