According to SP Bishwo Raj Pokharel, spokesperson of Metropolitan Police Range Office, Kathmandu, the five-year-old was allegedly raped by Rakesh Maharjan, 42. Maharjan was also sheltering in the same football ground where the victim's family has been living under tents following the 7.8 Richter scale quake that devastated the country on April 25.
The rape allegedly took place when the minor's parents were away from the makeshift shelter. Police said, "The girl was raped when her father had left the tent to buy some medicines and her mother had gone to the kitchen in a rented room located near the makeshift shelter." Following loud cries, other people who were sheltering in tents nabbed the accused red-handed and handed him over to police.Kathmandu District Court on Tuesday remanded the accused for six days in police custody pending further investigations. Maharjan is a farmer and has been living in the area with his family since many years.
Similarly, several other cases concerning sexual harassment and abuse have been reported to the police from different quake-affected districts including Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Kavre, Nuwakot and Dhading, attracting the attention of the government, security agencies and stakeholders in the field of child and women rights.
The Central Child Welfare Board (CCWB) has raised serious concern over the increasing incidence of sexual harassment, attempted rape and rape perpetrated on the pretext of caring for the vulnerable or extending a helping hand.
CCWB Executive Director Tarak Dhital said, "We need to initiate serious measures going forward to protect minors, girls and women who are forced to live in insecure, temporary shelters." Many families are compelled to live under tents in the absence of male members, he said adding that arrangements should be made to address their vulnerability.
A 16-year-old girl in Duwakot, Bhaktapur, a woman in Maharajgunj, a disabled woman and a girl in Kavre and a woman in Nuwakot were raped on the pretext of helping them with relief or makeshift shelter.
"We urge parents and other family members to keep a close eye on people involved in such crimes and on suspects and immediately inform the nearest police entity," Director Dhital said. He also sought an awareness campaign for the target groups and precautionary measures.
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