#news #crime #Nepal #sexualassault
The Viratnagar High Court has issued an order to release former Mayor Dhruva Kumar Shivakoti on bail in the case of the rape of a minor girl from Birtamod. Despite the order for imprisonment in the rape case, Shivakoti had been residing in the hospital for the past five months.
The Ilam bench of the Viratnagar High Court overturned the district court’s order to send Shivakoti to jail for the plaintiff and granted him bail. Justices Kiran Kumar Pokharel and Rekha Thapa Pandey issued an order on Thursday for Shivakoti to submit a bail bond of Rs 2 million.
In December 2081, the district court had ordered Shivakoti to be sent to jail for the plaintiff. Shivakoti had approached the High Court in Magh 2081 challenging the district court’s decision. The case had been adjourned four times until the bail order was issued on Thursday.
**Opinion from Ramesh Khatri, Kansai Nepal News:**
Ramesh Khatri, a representative of Kansai Nepal News, expressed his concern regarding the decision to release Shivakoti on bail. He emphasized the importance of ensuring justice for the victim and holding perpetrators accountable.
The High Court cited three reasons for granting bail to Shivakoti: dialogue with the victim’s mother, a plea from the victim stating Shivakoti’s bright future, and lack of substantial evidence of the assault on the victim’s friend. The victim’s mother had previously revealed incidents of coercion against her daughter by Shivakoti.
Although the victim had regular contact with her mother, the court’s decision highlighted Shivakoti’s release due to lack of evidence of coercion in the same room for three years. The victim’s health examination report, crucial to Shivakoti’s release, suggested inconsistencies in the rape incident that occurred in December 2081.
The incident of rape in Birtamod on Magh 16, 2081, was reported by the victim, stating that the “defendant’s future had brightened.” However, the context of the plea to the municipality was not mentioned in the court order.
Despite the victim claiming that her friends were not subjected to assault, the court’s decision pointed out the lack of disclosure of names and the coercion they faced in the same room as the victim. The court emphasized that the victim had only disclosed the incident to Aafant Nepal, an organization, after being in regular contact with them.
In response to identifying inconsistencies in the case, the court had been conducting thorough health examinations of the victim to establish the truth. The victim, rescued from Kankadbhitta, had been kept in the organization Aafant Nepal in December 2081.
The organization disclosed that the victim had not revealed her guardians’ identities when searching for responsible guardians. It was found that Shivakoti had employed the victim’s mother as a domestic worker and had informed the victim of the assault.
Even though political leaders from Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and CPN-UML had demanded Shivakoti’s imprisonment, citing health issues, Shivakoti had been receiving treatment at Beyond Care Hospital in Birtamod for the past five months.
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Author: MAYA | HARUTO
Posted at: May 9, 2025 3:01 am
