Nepal

Court orders additional five-day remand for Mahara

Court orders additional five-day remand for Mahara

By THT Online

FILE - Former speaker of the House of Representatives, Krishna Bahadur Mahara (C) leaves the Kathmandu District Court after giving his statement following accusation by a female government employee, who accused him of attempt-to-rape, in Kathmandu, on Tuesday, October 15, 2019. Photo: Skanda Gautam/THT

KATHMANDU: The Kathmandu District Court on Sunday has ordered an additional five days of remand for controversial former speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR), Krishna Bahadur Mahara, over attempt-to rape allegations. A single bench of justice Bal Krishna Subedi took the decision to this effect today after hearing debates from both the defendant and plaintiff lawyers, according to court registrar, Ananda Prasad Shrestha. Former speaker Mahara will be detained for five more days till October 23 for investigations. On September 30, a female employee at the Parliament Secretariat had accused Mahara of raping her the night before, at her rented apartment at Tinkune. Mahara had then resigned from the post of Speaker on October 1 following the allegation. Mahara was arrested from the Speaker's official residence in Baluwatar following the district court's permission to take him into custody to investigate attempt-to-rape charges levelled at him, on October 6.