Kathmandu, April 17

Kathmandu District Court has slapped 16-year jail sentence on a man who raped his daughter.  The decision was passed by Judge Shree Krishna Bhattarai on April 11.  The court also ruled that there was no need to conceal the identity of the perpetrator.

The court slapped six-year jail sentence on Ram Bahadur Pariyar for raping his daughter  and 10-year jail term  for committing an incestuous  crime.

Judge Bhattarai told THT that he decided to disclose the identity of the perpetrator as concealing his identity would make it difficult for law enforcement officers to arrest him in the event of his escape from jail. Bhattarai said if the identity of the perpetrator committing such a heinous crime was not revealed, then the public might not be able to lodge a complaint against him if he sought an appointment in any public agency or if he contested any election in future. “Exposing the identity of the perpetrator serves as a deterrence, a key element of criminal law,” he added.

“This message should go loud and clear to government attorney offices and law enforcement officers, who in the name of protecting the rape victims’ identity, also tend to conceal the identity of the perpetrators,” Bhattarai said.

The court also ordered the government to pay a compensation of Rs 300,000 to the victim as the perpetrator lacked financial means to pay the amount to the victim. The government can later recoup the amount from the perpetrator.

As per the case details, the perpetrator, who is a permanent resident of Rukum district, had in 2017, repeatedly raped his daughter born from his first wife  in their rented room in  Nagarjun Municipality. The victim, who was impregnated by the perpetrator, had undergone an abortion.