KATHMANDU: A secretariat meeting of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has decided on the resignation of Krishna Bahadur Mahara from the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives as well as Member of Parliament. Mahara was accused of rape by a staff of the federal parliament secretariat.

Spokesperson of the ruling party, Narayan Kaji Shrestha told THT Online that the secretariat meeting held earlier today has decided that Mahara will stepdown from the post of Speaker to facilitate investigation following the accusation. Additionally, Mahara will no longer remain a Member of Parliament.

The news of rape surfaced after hamrokura.com published a report on September 30, where the woman has accused Mahara of raping her in her own residence. The victim (whose identity has not been disclosed) said that Mahara came to her rented apartment located at Tinkune in an inebriated state on Sunday evening and raped her.