Nepal

Kathmandu, August 3

The number of women and girls filing rape cases with police has increased by more than 50 per cent in fiscal 2018-19.

Activists and police said more girls and women had started coming forward to file rape cases with police.

Growing awareness about sexual rights, education for girls and women and economic freedom, among other factors, encouraged girls and women to file rape cases against perpetrators.

As many as 2,233 cases of rape were reported to police in the fiscal 2018-19, which is significantly higher than 1,480 rape cases reported in fiscal 2017-18. The number was even less in fiscal 2016- 17, when only 1,137 rape cases were reported.

Similarly, the number of rape cases reported during the preceding years was also drastically low.

A total of 981 rape cases were filed in fiscal 2015-16, 912 in 2014-15 and 677 in 2013-14.

Exactly 15 years ago police had recorded only 154 rape cases throughout the country.

Superintendent of Police Shyam Lal Gyanwali at Metropolitan Police Office, Rani Pokhari, said increase in the number of rape cases is due to awareness among women who have become more conscious about reporting the crime.

&Time has changed and women no longer want to hide rape cases or reconcile with perpetrators.& Rita Sah, a women rights activist and civil society member said, adding that rising level of awareness among women and girls backed by their academic qualification had enabled them to file complaints against rape.

Similarly, support from various organisations that work for women and girls had encouraged girls and women to reach out to police.

&Despite the ising number of rape victims filing complaint with the police, many girls and women still hide the crime due to the social stigma attached to it and the administrative hurdles they have to face while filing complaint.&

Sah said changing the mindset of society might take some time, so police needed to be more women-friendly and sensitive while registering rape case.

&A rape case must be filed in the presence of a health worker, lawyer and police officials to effectively bring the perpetrator behind bars and to save the victimrights to privacy,& Sah added, Dhana Kumari Sunar, a woman activist and former member of the National Women Commission, said more women filing rape cases was a progressive sign and women in Nepali society were breaking free from the clutches of patriarchy.

&Rape itself is a very bad thing, but it is a good thing that many women have started reporting cases to the authorities,& said Sunar, adding that majority of rape perpetrators were either seniors from within the family or from among relatives of the victim.

&Rape victims are reluctant to report the incident as they fear social stigma. &We need an effective system to encourage such victims to speak up against the perpetrators,& said Sah.

Police, however, failed to nab 55 rape-accused persons in fiscal 2018-19 and 144 rape accused in fiscal 2017-18.

According to a report issued by WomenRehabilitation Centre, nearly 70 per cent victims of rape and rape attempts are minors between the age of five and 16.

Most of the incidents of rape and rape attempts were perpetrated by family members, close relatives and acquaintances, the report states.

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Ramechhap, August 2

Elected representatives of the executive of RamechhapLikhu Rural Municipality, including its vice-chairperson, today filed an application with the district administration office seeking security.

The rural municipality Vice-chair Dipshikha Dahal, Chief Administrative Officer Bhupendra Rai, Ward Chair Subas Bohora and other members of the executive of the local body, sought security, saying they were insecure from the rural municipality Chair Govind Bahadur Khadka.

At a meeting of the executive of the local body yesterday, the RM chair had tried to attack vice-chair and other members when they rejected his proposal to allocate additional fund for electrification in Duragaun.

&After the RM chair proposed to allocate a whopping 120 million rupees for electrification under the Bright Likhu Programme this year, we rejected the plan citing lack of transparency in the expenditure of last yearbudget, and soon after this he tried to assault us with a chair,& said Dahal, adding last fiscalbudget of Rs 200,000 under the same heading was spent without keeping any records or following any due process.

The RM chair tired to defend himself saying some anti-development elements were trying to foil his initiative.

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More than 20 per cent of burglars turn out to be repeat offenders

Kathmandu, August 3

A total of 2,874 cases of burglary were reported throughout the country in fiscal 2018-19 against 1,628 cases in the previous fiscal, an increase of around 43.3 per cent.

Statistics released by Nepal Police show that an average of nine cases of theft took place daily in 2018-19.

More than 50 per cent of the crime took place in broad daylight in unattended houses and rented rooms of working families, mainly in Kathmandu valley.

With increase in theft cases, the number of arrests also went up in 2018-19. Police arrested 4,117 persons on theft charges in 2018-19 compared to 2,351 in the previous fiscal, an increase of approximately 42.8 per cent. Despite the upward trend in overall cases of burglary in the country, the valley witnessed significant decrease.

As many as 437 cases of burglaries were reported in 2018-19 compared to 648 in the previous fiscal. It accounts for 32.5 per centdecrease.

On March 12, police busted a burglary racket, which targeted unattended shops and houses and was active in and houses and was Kathmandu for the past four years. The suspects were Omraj Shrestha, 41, of Ramechhap and Paras Prasad, 33, and Santosh Podar, 32, of Indian State of Bihar. State of Bihar.

Police raided their rented rooms and confiscated stolen goods worth around one million rupees. The seized goods included a huge quantity of sanitary wares and silver utensils. A van and Rs 70,000 in cash were also confiscated.

An alleged robber was arrested after a shootout in Attarkhel, Jorpati, on June 7.

Police said they opened fire in self-defence as the notorious robber Chhiring Tamang alias ‘Kaka& of Kavre tried to attack the cops who were trying to take him into custody.

He sustained bullet injuries below the knee, in the left leg. According to Metropolitan Police Crime Division, a gang of four led by Tamang were hatching a plot to rob a jewellery shop in Koteshwor.

On July 15, police arrested three persons, including Sabin Khawas, 26, of Jhapa, with an illegal firearm and bullets from a hotel in Gongabu. They were allegedly planning to rob a jewellery shop in Kathmandu. Khawas was arrested for kidnapping on 2 March 2017 and was later released on 20 November 2018 from Dillibazaar Prison.

While the law enforcement agency has made modest gains in its fight against organised crime such as trade in small arms, extortion, forgery and peddling of drugs, explosives, fraud and kidnapping of late, they have not been able to curb property crime. Deputy Superintendent of Police Hobindra Bogati, spokesperson for Teku-based Metropolitan Police Range said burglaries would decrease if house owners or tenants took care of their cash and valuables or deposited them in banks and did not leave their houses unattended.

He said police were having a tough time dealing with property crimes due to involvement of the same groups and persons in burglaries after doing time in jail or being released on bail.

More than 20 per cent of the burglars turn out to be repeat offenders, due to the provision of lenient punishment in such cases.

Police attribute the decline in theft cases in the valley to stepped up vigilance on the part of security agencies against theft and robbery suspects. The campaign focuses on controlling thefts both during the day and at night in unattended houses and rooms in core city areas and the Ring Road.

The special units deployed from MPCD and MPR are keeping vigil against and frisking the suspects in crowded areas, bus parks, marketplaces and residential areas, among others.

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Kathmandu, August 2

The Office of the Attorney General today filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against the latterrecent verdict that rules against invoking Banking Offence and Punishment Act-2008 for cheque-bounce cases, said Spokesperson for OAG Sanjiv Raj Regmi.

A division bench of justices Dambar Bahadur Shahi and Kumar Regmi issued this ruling in a case filed by the government against Nirmala Sodari, a resident of Kailali district. The SC delivered its verdict a June 24. The SC said since Negotiable Instruments Act-1977, incorporated comprehensive provisions related to cheque bounce cases, adjudication of such cases should be based under NIA and not BOPA. If the precedent set by the SC applies to all similar cases, cheque bounce cases will not be a criminal case where the government will be the plaintiff.

Under existing provisions, the affected party may file an FIR at the police office under Government Case Act following which the police can arrest the accused and carry out investigation.

Remgi said that the SC verdict was not inconsistent with the its past precedents where it had once said that in a case where two laws could be invoked, then the latest law should be accorded priority. BOPA is the latest law to govern issues of bounced cheques. Regmi said BOPA incorporated adequate provisions to ensure justice for victims and deterrence against erring parties.

He said if cheque bounce issues were not addressed by BOPA, then it could adversely affect the banking system.

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