In perhaps one of the most shameful and bizarre episodes of sexual abuse, a young woman in Lucknow has charged her father and brother with raping her continuously for about 10 years. Even her mother knew about the shameful act but kept quiet, and, in fact, even forced her to undergo an abortion. The woman’s father, brother and mother were arrested on Wednesday after the personal intervention of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

An official in the CM secretariat said Akhilesh was horrified when the woman, working at a beauty parlour, narrated her harrowing experiences to him at the ‘Janta Darshan’.

She alleged that her father and brother had been sexually abusing her since she was 14. A beautician by profession and a resident of Krishnanagar area, the woman told the CM that most of the time she had been kept under duress in her house by her father. She broke down as she related how even her mother had silenced her protests saying that it would bring dishonour to the family.

Akhilesh gave her a patient hearing and then called up senior police officials directing them to take immediate action against the accused. Soon, a joint team of officials from the Krishnanagar police station and the women’s police station went to the girl’s house and arrested the accused.