KATHMANDU, JUNE 7

The Surkhet District Administration Office (DAO) has sealed the Raute settlement in the district citing safety concerns, on Monday.

Members of the Raute Community -- the last nomadic community of Nepal -- are dwelling in banks of the Bheri River in Aanpsoti, Gurbhakot Municipality-9 in Surkhet district.

The stringent measure has been adopted by the authorities' to safeguard the community, following reports of sexual harassment of two Raute girls as of late.

It has been learnt that the DAO has mobilised at least 22 police personnel to implement the order as per which no outsider is allowed into the community while no member of the Raute community will be allowed to leave the premises.

The police on Sunday had apprehended three locals on the charge of sexually assaulting two teenage Raute girls.

The arrestees had allegedly taken the victims to a local hotel where they inebriated the girls and sexually assaulted them.

The men filmed the incident and uploaded the video on social media.

The video shows the perpetrators drinking alcohol with the victims and harassing the intoxicated women.

Police detained the accused on Sunday after the video went viral.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the government to hold the perpetrators involved in sexual harassment against the Raute girls in Surkhet district accountable.

Similarly, considering the sensitivity of the matter, the NHRC has also drawn the attention of the government to maintain privacy of the identities of the victims.

Furthermore, some groups have raised concerns regarding sealing of the movement of Rautes altogether rather than addressing the larger concern of sexual harrassment and security prevalent in the broader society.