KATHMANDU, MAY 21

Police have arrested former beauty pageant organiser Manoj Pandey, in connection with an eight- year-old case in which the victim - a 16-yearold aspiring model - was allegedly drugged and raped.

The victim had recently revealed about her traumatic experience on social media.

A police team from Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office arrested Pandey from a hideout in a relative' house in Swoyambhu this evening. Police had closely monitored Pandey's activities as soon as the case became a subject of national issue and the House of Speaker Agni Sapkota sought government action on the issue.

After the speaker gave directions, Nepal Police headquarters had commissioned a probe team led by Senior Superintendent of Police Basanta Bahadur Kunwar to investigate the case and 'seek ways to keep the perpetrator behind bars if proven guilty.

In a series of videos released on her social media account on May 18, Sushmita had claimed she was drugged and raped by 'an abuser' (Pandey) in 2014 when she was 16 years old. She has accused Pandey of taking her to a hotel on the pretext of inviting her to a success party of a beauty pageant.

There were no participants in the party. In the video Sushmita said that she was drugged with spiked lemonade, a 'welcome drink'. Pandey then lured the girl into a room in the hotel on the pretext of giving her some time to relax although she had requested that she be allowed to return home.

Sushmita recounted her situation, in a second video where she said 'I went there.

And the next thing I remember was I gained consciousness time and again. Whenever I became conscious, I remember a man forcing himself on me. It was very painful. When I became fully conscious at around 4:30 to 5:00am next morning, I saw was a man lying next to me completely naked, I was totally naked. There was blood in the bed. And then I cried loud, hysterically.'

Sushmita, in the video, said the man offered her Rs 20,000 and manipulated her saying it was she who had asked for sex.

Later, she said she was completely startled and became numb. Pandey also allegedly threatened her saying she should keep mum or he would leak the video and pictures of the incident. Sushmita claimed she was raped for the next six months. 'My body completely froze, and I did not know how to act and it continued for six months. He used to call me whenever he wanted to have sex and I used to go. I feel really disgusted... that was very traumatic,' she added.

Twenty short videos, which have become viral on internet, have infuriated a large number of people, especially youngsters. A series of demonstrations were organised outside the prime minister's residential building at Baluwatar demanding fair investigation and action against the culprit.

Lawmakers raised the issue at a meeting of the HoR, while many celebrities raised their voice in support of Sushmita through social media.

In the next video, Sushmita broke into tears saying she was not able to file a complaint against the alleged rapists as the statutory limitation for reporting rape is one year in Nepal.

This too has stirred a heated debate. The Criminal Code Act (2017) allows one year time duration for any adult rape victim to file a police complaint.

In case of minors, the victim or the victim's family can file complaint within the first year of turning adult.

Meanwhile, police are struggling with the question under which charge should they keep Pandey in custody. Police might not get judicial custody from the court against the accused if he is charged with rape. Police are required to bring the accused Pandey to the court on Monday since tomorrow is a national holiday.

SSP Kunwar, who is leading the investigation said they were thinking about ways to take the accused in custody to investigate the case. 'We might invoke Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act 2007 or any other similar acts, which have provisions of drugging and raping minors, to get judicial custody of the accused so we can continue our investigation.'

A version of this article appears in the print on May 22, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.