The District Court of Arghakhanchi has sentenced Namadev Khanal,70, of Khan Badachaur, Malarani Rural Municipality-4, to 18 years imprisonment for raping a 16-year-old girl. According to Ram Prasad Acharya, the court’s assistant registrar, the bench of District Court Judge Shivalal Pandey on 8 December found the accused guilty and sentenced him to 18 years of imprisonment, imposed a fine of Rs 700,000 to be paid as compensation to the victim, and ordered Rs 28,000 to be deposited into the Victim Relief Fund.
The aggrieved party filed a complaint at the District Police Office, Sandhikharka, on 22 September 2024, stating that the accused raped the minor girl in March 2024 and later forced her to terminate the pregnancy on 21 September 2024. After the incident, the accused had gone into hiding, but police arrested him on 25 September 2024 from the Krishnanagar border checkpoint and submitted him to the District Court on 20 October 2024 on rape charges.
The District Court had sent the accused into pretrial detention on 20 October. The minor victim’s medical examination was conducted on 21 September at Arghakhanchi District Hospital, Sandhikharka.