A guard at a lodge in Varanasi’s Madhopur village on Wednesday night allegedly assaulted and raped a 70-year-old French woman. In her FIR, the woman alleged that the guard, who was inebriated, barged into her room, beat her up and later raped her. The accused was arrested from Uttar Pradesh’s Chunar town on Thursday.

Superintendent of Police (rural) Amit Kumar, who visited the scene of the crime, told Hindustan Times that a forensic team has collected samples. The accused is absconding. “The accused has been identified and all legal formalities will be completed soon,” Senior Superintendent of Police Nitin Tiwari told NDTV.

The police took the woman to the district hospital, where District magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Mishra and SSP Tiwari visited her. Her condition is said to be stable.

The complainant had been staying at the lodge for the past 11 months. She has been a regular visitor to Varansi since 1977, according to NDTV. A social activist, the woman was associated with a local NGO that teaches rural women and does educational work. However, other reports claimed that she worked for differently-abled children in the area.