Kathmandu, September 19

Kathmandu District Court has released a ‘high profile’ person who was facing sexual harassment and cyber-crime charges against his step-daughter. The court released 65-year-old Rishi (name changed) yesterday after he posted bail amount of Rs 300,000.

Police said Rishi used to send obscene messages to his step-daughter with the intention of luring her into physical relationship with him. He had been sending vulgar text messages and graphic pictures to the girl for many years, police told THT citing a complaint filed by the girl with police. “The messages were sent in a way to compel her to approach the elderly to have physical relationship with him,” said a police source.

Rishi, a permanent resident of Morang district, has been living in the United Kingdom with his wife while the daughter lives in Kathmandu. He had taken the guardianship of the girl as a father, after he married the girl’s mother 27 years ago, when she was 11 years old. Rishi frequently visits Nepal.

Disheartened by regular abusive messages, the 38-year-old unmarried woman had finally approached the police after the step-father brought her a sex toy as a gift from the UK, in his recent visit to Kathmandu. After handing her the gift, Rishi had sent her text messages, pictures and tutorial videos which showed the method to use the sex toy, according to police.

The woman with the support of her relatives on September 3, went to police and filed an FIR against her step-father, while he was still in Nepal.

Senior Superintendent of Police Sahakul Thapa of Metropolitan Police Crime Division, Teku, said the girl was specially offended by Rishi’s latest act of handing her a sex toy and sending her text messages, and tutorial videos. SSP Thapa also said the girl, however, has not mentioned about any kind of physical abuse against her in the FIR. “The message was so obscene that it would be hard to believe that the man is the father of the girl,” Thapa said.

Police sources said Rishi, ‘a well educated man’ is a well known non-resident Nepali in the United Kingdom.