Damauli, February 11

Tanahun’s Ghiring Rural Municipality ward No 4 Chair Jhaka Bahadur Kumal, who faces a 10-month-old rape charge, surrendered at Nawalpur District Police Office, today.

A rape case was filed against Kumal at DPO Nawalpur on 13 May  2018. After the case was registered, police had expedited a search operation to catch Kumal. He had been hiding in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan.

Kumal was remanded to custody by the court today and sent to prison for investigation, according to SI Tikaram Pokhrel.

Kumal is accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in a forest near Baudhhikalika Dedhgaun, Nawalpur, on 7 May 2018.

The girl accused the ward chair of taking her on his bike and raping her in the forest while she was returning home after receiving money sent by her husband from abroad. The victim had been visiting Tanahun and Nawalpur seeking justice for long.

Initially, Tanahun police had refused to register the case saying that the incident occurred in Nawalpur. But, it was forced to take the case after it became public. The girl was kept at the Victim Care Centre for some time in Tanahun.