Woman lodges FIR 6 years after ‘rape’ by neighbour; husband of 2 months helped her approach police

A rape case has been filed in Varanasi against a 60-year-old neighbour accused of assaulting a Class 10 student in 2019 and allegedly blackmailing her for years. Police have registered a case under BNS and POCSO and are searching for the accused

Varanasi: A woman filed a case of rape against her neighbour, a 60-year-old man, and accused him of years of blackmail and intimidation after the alleged incident six years ago, police said on Sunday.

Police said the woman, who was a class 10 student when the alleged rape happened in 2019, found support of her husband who she married this year in April to lodge a complaint.

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According to her complaint, she was outside her coaching centre waiting for it to open, when her neighbour, Dashrath Patel, took her to the pathology centre he ran. He then allegedly raped her.

He allegedly continued to sexually exploit her through blackmail and intimidation until 2025, police said.

The woman got married in April 2026, after which she narrated her ordeal to her husband and he decided to fight for justice and approached senior police officers.

Mirzamurad Station House Officer (SHO) Gopalji Kushwaha said a case has been registered against the accused, Dashrath Patel (60), under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Police teams are trying to arrest the accused, and he will be behind bars soon, the SHO added.