Kathmandu, May 31

Thamel police have taken Chinese national Chen Xi, 21, into custody after some locals caught a few Chinese men for allegedly misbehaving with some local girls in Chhetrapati area near Thamel, Kathmandu, yesterday.

Chhetrapati area was tense yesterday, after two Chinese men allegedly ‘groped’ and pulled two local girls aged between 14 to 16. The girls were moving towards their home from a relative’s home when the two Chinese men stopped them and started conversing with them using an application that translated Chinese into English.

Yadav Lal Kayestha, a local resident of Chhetrapati told THT that the girls had wanted to help the men. “However, after a few seconds, the Chinese men invited them for coffee. The girls refused and wanted to leave. But, one of the two Chinese pulled a girl towards him, groped and molested her,” Kayastha said.

The incident drew the attention of locals, including an elderly, who immediately came for their rescue.

The incident was reported to the nearby Sorhakhutte Police Circle where a heated argument took place. By the evening, scores of Chinese had gathered near the police circle to exert pressure on the police to dismiss the case. But the locals wanted the accused molesters to be arrested.

Today, police registered the first information report of the girls who accused one the men of misbehaving with them. After the FIR was registered, the Chinese national was arrested and presented to Kathmandu District Administration Office. He has been remanded to seven-day police custody, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police Deepak Khadka, head of Sorhakhutte Police Circle.

Kayastha also said the same Chinese men, had a few days ago, tried to misbehave with a married woman at the same place.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 01, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.