London: A 73-year-old Indian-origin man, who headed an extremist Maoist sect in the UK, was today charged for allegedly enslaving three women in his home here for 30 years.

Aravindan Balakrishnan is charged with 25 offences including false imprisonment, cruelty to a person under 16 years, indecent assault and rape.

He will appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on December 17.

Balakrishnan is accused of imprisoning three women in a house in south London between 1983 and 2013 which came to light last year.

“After careful consideration, we have decided that there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and that a prosecution is in the public interest,” said Anthony Connell, senior prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Balakrishnan was arrested along with his wife,

67-year-old Chanda Pattni, in November 2013 over allegations that they had held the women against their will for more than 30 years.

Pattni was released with no further action earlier this year when prosecutors decided there was “insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction”.  “May I remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant have been commenced and of his right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings,” the CPS warned in reference to reporting restrictions which are now in place.

It was alleged that a 69-year-old woman from Malaysia, a 57-year-old from Ireland and a 30-year-old Briton had been forced into domestic servitude by the couple after joining their extreme left wing cult.