ITAHARI, Dec 31: The Sunsari District Court has released rape-accused Krishna Das Giri, known as Siddhababa, on bail on Monday.

A single bench of district judge Radha Krishna Upreti released Giri on a bail of Rs 300,000. Immediately after the order, Giri submitted the bail.

The District Attorney’s Office, Sunsari, had filed a case against Giri at the Sunsari District Court on Thursday. 

According to Nagendra Kesari Pokharel, registrar at the district court, the court sought bail as there is not enough evidence to prove that Giri is innocent.

Giri is accused of raping a female follower at his Ashram in Chatara in Sunsari. 

According to a complaint filed a few weeks ago by his alleged victim at the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police, she was raped in the Ashram on October 21. After this, the Central Investigation Bureau had asked the District Police Office, Sunsari, to look into the complaint.

On December 2, a team from the District Police Office, Sunsari led by DSP Binod Sharma arrested Giri from the intensive care unit of the Birat Nursing Home in Biratnagar, and presented him before the court. Earlier, Giri was admitted to the hospital after complaining of chest and heart problems.

The preliminary hearing in the case had started from Friday. Since his arrest, his followers have been staging demonstrations claiming that he was framed. They protested outside the court as well since the hearings started.

Giri has connections with top politicians and government officers. In 2006, he had organized a health camp in Chatara to promote Ayurveda where Nepal Communist Party chair as well as former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the then Indian ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Ray among others were his guests.  

Among other high-profile visitors to his Ashram was the disgraced former speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who is now in jail on the charge attempted rape of a female staffer, and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Last year, Chief Minister of Province 1 Sherdhan Rai had participated in the Yoga Day celebrations organized at Giri’s Ashram.

 
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