Kathmandu, January 8

Kathmandu District Court today remanded Prithvi Malla, 21, of Kathmandu to judicial custody on the charge of rash driving leading to fatal road accident.

Following a trial hearing, Judge Deepak Kumar Dahal denied bail to Malla and ordered the police to send the defendant to jail until final verdict, according to court Registrar Ananda Prasad Shrtestha.

A charge-sheet filed by Metropolitan Police Range at the court through the District Government Attorney’s Office has sought maximum punishment against Malla as per the existing law. According to section 31 of the Motor Vehicle and Transport Management Act-1993, if a vehicle due to recklessness driving, runs over or knocks down any person resulting in his/her death, the driver shall be punished with imprisonment for term ranging from two years to 10 years, depending on the gravity of the offence.

On December 14, Leela Devkota, 38, of Gorkha was killed after a car driven by Malla hit the pedestrian near Budhanilkantha School. She had succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment at the Bansbari-based Upendra Devkota Memorial National Institute of Neurological and Allied Sciences. Devkota was walking towards the factory situated across the bridge where she worked when the speeding car hit her. According to police, Malla was driving the car under influence. He was detained by police, who arrived at the scene within a few minutes of the accident.