Woman in dock for making false rape charges

However,during the course of the trial,the woman turned hostile. She told the judge she was unlettered and so had thought she was filing a police complaint stating her employer had not paid her wages. The placement agent Lohar also pleaded ignorance about the complaint.

The judge,however,did not accept their claims and observed that the two had filed the complaint to cause injury to Luthra. “It is evident that both these witnesses have got the present case registered by furnishing false information with an intent to cause injury to the accused Rajeev Luthra,” the court observed while ordering that the two be produced before a Magistrates Court to be prosecuted for giving false evidence. The court also made some strong observations about placement agencies and the way in which they exploited uneducated domestic workers.

“Recently,there has also been a spurt of cases relating to rape and sexual abuse being registered based on the allegations made by migrant domestic workers. In many cases,these young girls from backward areas are being exploited by those running the placement agencies who use them as pawns to settle personal scores,” the judge said.

The court also laid out a detailed system of investigation for the police to follow in cases of rape/ sexual abuse of domestic workers,including videographing the statement of the witness and probing the credentials of the agency from where they were employed,so that they do not take up false complaints.