Kathmandu, September 21

Incidents of rape may be on the rise in Kathmandu Valley, but another bizarre side of it is women sometimes file false rape complaints against innocent persons for personal gain.

The incident came to light when Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, conducted a thorough investigation into a rape complaint lodged by 26-year-old Sharada Chhetri against a man. Chhetri of Chhatredeurali-2, Dhading, and residing at Sheshmati in Tarkeshwor, Kathmandu, lodged the rape complaint with the MPR last week and sought legal action against the man.

However, police investigation showed she had filed a false case and was used by someone else to settle personal enmity with the ‘accused’ (name undisclosed).

“The man, who used the woman, had personal enmity with the accused and promised her money if she filed a false rape case against the innocent person,” SSP Rabindra Bahadur Dhanuk, MPR in-charge, said. What is more astounding is that Chhetri never knew the ‘accused’. He informed that police were searching for the perpetrator, who is at large.

Following an all-out investigation that found Chhetri on the wrong side of the law, police arrested her yesterday and charged her under the Some Public (Crime and Punishment) Act, 1970. District Administration Office, Kathmandu, has remanded her to seven-day judicial custody.

The existing law prohibits anyone from committing any act with an intent to intimidate, terrorise or cause trouble or to insult or defame or harass a person. In some cases, men and women have consensual sex and the latter file rape complaint when their relationship turns sour, police said.

Recent statistics released by Metropolitan Police Office show that rape continues unabated in the Valley. Reported incidents of rape increased to 156 in the fiscal 2016-17 from 135 in the last fiscal.

The report also claims that police maintain zero-tolerance against any forms of violence against women and children, and asserted that they have managed to nab all perpetrators of rapes and rape attempts. Police also encouraged the victims report to the law enforcement agency should any physical or mental torture be meted out to them.