KATHMANDU, AUGUST 24
Janakpur High Court has ordered rape accused Shiva Raj Shrestha to undergo DNA test. The order was passed by a division bench of judges Bhojraj Adhikari and Rekha Thapa Pandey.
The high court asked authorities to test DNA of Shrestha and the child of Niharika Rajput. Niharika has accused Shrestha of raping and impregnating her.
The court asked the administration to submit DNA report to the bench after receiving it from the National Forensic Laboratory, Lalitpur, where DNA samples have to be tested.
The court observed that in light of the victim's statement in the court that she was raped by the accused and the accused's statement that he did not have sexual relations with the victim, it was pertinent for the court to order DNA test of the accused and the victim's son.
Niharika has accused Shrestha of drugging and raping her at her friend's house in Dhanusha district. Dhanusha District Court has given verdict saying that the victim had consensual sex with Shrestha and that cannot be ruled rape.
Niharika Rajput's lawyer Senior Advocate Meera Dhungana, who pleaded on her behalf at Janakpur High Court, told THT that the victim had disowned an application that Dhanusha District Court had cited in its verdict to absolve Shrestha of rape charge.
The lower court had cited the second application at the relevant police office where she had allegedly said that they were living together and they wanted to live as husband and wife.
Niharika has been approaching government agencies demanding justice. Recently she staged hunger strike in Kathmandu.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 25, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
