Provo convenience store owner arrested after alleged assault

Mukesh Pathak Bindraban. Photo Courtesy: Utah County

PROVO, Utah, Dec. 30, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A Provo convenience store owner has been arrested after an alleged assault.

A probable cause statement from Utah County said Mukesh Pathak Bindraban, 61, was arrested Saturday and is charged with:

  • Object rape, a first-degree felony
  • Forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony
  • Forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony
  • Threat of violence, a class B misdemeanor

On Dec. 26, officers received report of a woman that was sexually assaulted by her current boss and the owner of a Provo convenience store.

“The female victim received a call from Mukesh requesting that she come to his home located in Provo,” the statement said. “Once at the house the victim stated that Mukesh insisted that she eat something and he insisted that she drink some rum. The victim stated that Mukesh started making advances toward her and tried to kiss her and grab her breast.”

The victim excused herself to the bathroom and set her cellphone to record mode and put the phone back into her pocket, the statement said. The victim said that after leaving the bathroom with the recording running, Bindraban insisted that she sit next to him and when she refused, he became belligerent.

“The victim said she eventually sat next to Mukesh and he started to kiss her and put his hands on her breasts,” the arresting officer wrote. “The victim told Mukesh no multiple times but his behavior continued. The victim described to me how she wanted to be much more forceful with Mukesh, and make him stop but she was worried that he might become belligerent, or worse.”

The victim told officers that when she entered the house she observed a shotgun by the front door. She described that in the same room she was in there was a loaded Smith and Wesson handgun within reach of Bindraban, the statement said. The handgun was sitting in plain view near the TV. The victim stated that she saw the butt of another gun under the couch where Bindraban was sitting. Bindraban told her “that he could protect her and said he had a gun in every room of the house,” the statement said.

At one point Bindraban told the victim: “If you lie to me I’m going to kill you,” then he muttered under his breath: “I will kill you.”

Bindraban then touched the victim inappropriately. In the cellphone recording, “the victim clearly objected almost every time that Mukesh tried to touch her,” the statement said. “The victim tried to change the conversation to work related topics or make excuses as to why she needs to leave. The victim relayed to me the fear she felt if she were to object more sternly, or if she were to try and run.”

When Bindraban was arrested, he had a loaded hand gun on his person, officials said. He was transported to Utah County Jail, where he is being held without bail.

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