Kathmandu, January 19

Kathmandu District Administration Office today issued an arrest warrant against popular Nepali pop singer Astha Raut, directing police to book her for indecent behaviour.

This morning Constable Ramita Shrestha, a duty officer at Tribhuvan International Airport, filed a case against Raut accusing her of indecent behaviour, at the Metropolitan Police Range, Teku. Shrestha has accused Raut of misbehaving with her while she was on duty at Tribhuvan International Airport on Wednesday.

Kathmandu Chief District Officer Janakraj Dahal said the arrest warrant was issued on the basis of the case filed by the police constable.

A CCTV footage of the airport security area shows that a lady police official had asked Raut to take off her coat for scanning before crossing the biometric gate. The video, without audio, shows Raut in a hurry, not taking off her coat. But on being forced by the lady constable, she placed the coat in a tray meant to pass through the scanner. Police then frisked her and ask Raut to take her coffee mug that she was carrying with her. But an angry-looking Raut leaves the mug on the table.

Raut was travelling from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur airport in Jhapa on her way to attend a musical show in India.

In a Facebook video recorded inside a vehicle after Raut landed in Bhadrapur airport, she accused the lady constable of addressing her in an insulting manner.

In the video, Raut looks angry and uses derogatory language against Nepal Police, accusing the police organisation of ineffective investigation into larger scams while troubling the general public. Police, however, have refuted Raut’s claim, saying no cop at the airport used foul language while talking to the singer.

People have expressed mixed feelings about the scandal on social media, with some siding with the police, while others sympathising with the singer. Police were criticised for deliberately leaking the CCTV footage after Raut’s accusation gained a lot of attention on social media.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Hobindra Bogati at MPR, Teku, said investigation in the case had begun and they would arrest Raut on her return to Nepal.

Raut could not be contacted for comment. She later removed the video lambasing Nepal Police from her Facebook page and posted another video, saying she was not against the police.

Indecent behaviour at public places can attract punishment of up to one year in jail.