New Delhi: A 39-year-old man has been arrested in central Delhi’s Hauz Qazi area for allegedly raping his 65-year-old mother twice, claiming that he was “punishing” her for an alleged extramarital affair from decades ago.

The woman, accompanied by her 25-year-old daughter, approached Hauz Qazi police station and lodged a formal complaint detailing the assaults, which reportedly occurred shortly after the family returned from a religious pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

The complainant lives with her husband—a retired government employee—the accused son and her younger daughter in Hauz Qazi. Their elder daughter resides nearby with her in-laws.

According to the woman’s statement, she, her husband and their younger daughter departed for Saudi Arabia on July 17.

While abroad, the accused, Md Firoz alias Suhel, allegedly made repeated calls to his father, demanding the family return to Delhi immediately and urging him to divorce his wife. He accused her of having had illicit relationships during his childhood, before the birth of his younger sister.

“He said that we should come to Delhi because he wanted my husband to divorce me, claiming he had discovered that I had extramarital relationships with other men when he was a child, before his younger sister was born, and when my husband used to travel for work,” the woman stated in her complaint.

The family returned on August 1. Upon arrival, the accused allegedly locked his mother in a room, and assaulted her.

Fearing for her safety, the woman initially sought refuge at her elder daughter’s residence. However, she returned home on August 11. That night, around 9.30 pm, the accused allegedly told family members he wished to speak with his mother privately. He then locked her in a room and raped her.

“He locked her in the room and raped her. He said that he was punishing her for her previous conduct even as she pleaded that she was his mother,” a police officer said.

Out of fear and shame, the woman did not immediately disclose the incident and began sleeping in the same room as her daughter. But in the early hours of August 14 at approximately 3.30 am, the accused allegedly entered the room and raped her again.

The following day, the woman confided in her younger daughter, who encouraged her to report the matter to the police. A case was subsequently registered under Section 64 (rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and the accused has been taken into custody. An investigation is currently underway.

The accused is a university graduate but currently unemployed. The complainant is an illiterate housewife.

(With PTI inputs)