KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 4

Niharika Rajput, who has accused Shiva Raj Shrestha of raping her and impregnating her with a child, got the backing of DNA results today which showed that Shrestha's DNA matched with Niharika's child.

Spokesperson for the Janakpur High Court Nutan Jha said there was 99.99 per cent match of Shrestha's DNA results with the DNA results of the accuser's child.

Shrestha has a general court date on November 11 when the court will assign his case for final hearing, according to Jha.

In August, the Janakpur High Court had ordered Shrestha to undergo a DNA test. The court had asked the administration to submit DNA report to the bench after receiving it from the National Forensic Laboratory, Lalitpur, where DNA samples were tested.

The court had said DNA tests of the accused and the victim's son were ordered as the accused had denied sexual relations with Niharika.

Niharika had accused Shrestha of raping her at her friend's house in Dhanusha district. The Dhanusha District Court had, however, concluded that the victim had consensual sex with Shrestha. The lower court had cited an application at a police office where Niharika had claimed that they were living together and wanted to live as husband and wife. Niharika later disowned that application.

Niharika wanted to organise a press conference in front of the prime minister's residence but the police prevented her from doing so. In August, Niharika attempted self-immolation in front of the president's office, but the police saved her.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 5, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.