Nepal's ex-Speaker KB Mahara arrested in sexual harassment case

Nepal's ex-speaker, KB Mahara, a senior leader of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been arrested on October 6 in connection with a sexual harassment case. Mahara resigned recently as Speaker of Parliament because of the accusations. Police have arrested Mahara from the official residence of the Speaker which he had not emptied after resigning from the post following accusations that he attempted to rape an employee of the parliamentary secretary.

READ: Former Nepal Speaker Arrested Over Attempt To Rape Charge

Mahara has been detained and kept under high-security 

The victim had formally filed a complaint with the police on Saturday. Mahara is a former deputy Prime Minister and one of the most influential politicians from the former Maoist Party, which is now part of the ruling NCP. He had survived important ministries such as finance, foreign affairs, and peace and reconstruction in the past 13 years after the Maoists gave up insurgency and joined the democratic process in 2006. The ruling party decided that Mahara should resign as Speaker and as MP after the complainant gave a detailed interview to an online news portal alleging that Mahara had attempted to rape her at her residence. However, Mahara has not yet resigned as a member of Parliament. He has been detained and kept under high-security Singha Durbar police station in Kathmandu, where he is being interrogated.

READ: Nepal: Lower House Speaker Krishna Bahadur Resigns Over Rape Allegation

Mahara visited my rented room on September 23 while I was alone: Victim

The woman said Mahara visited her rented room on September 23 while she was alone. The woman said she tried to stop Mahara, who was in an inebriated state, from entering her home but he did not listen. She alleged Mahara forced himself on her and when she tried to stop him, he abused her. In the video, the woman displayed blue marks on her body, saying these were the places Mahara struck her. The secretariat of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) had met on Tuesday and decided Mahara should resign from the post of Speaker, according to NCP sources. This is the first time in Democratic Nepal's history that a high profile political personality has been arrested in a rape case. If proven guilty, Mahara will face up to five years imprisonment. 

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(with inputs from agencies)