RAJBIRAJ, June 19: Saptari police has arrested Yasbant Singh, former general secretary of Sadbhwana Party (SP), on the charge of sexually abusing and trying to traffic a woman.

The Appellate Court of Rajbiraj had directed the police to investigate the allegations of sexual assault filed by a local woman against Singh. According to Saptari District Police Office (DPO), the police arrested Singh from a house where he was hiding since learning of the court's order. Saptari police said they are also looking for other culprits.

The victim had knocked on the Appellate Court's door after the local police refused to register her complaint.

She had filed the case at the court in March, 2015. The Appellate Court issued an order on June 14, 2015 asking the DPO to initiate investigation into the case at the earliest.

Singh, who is a resident of Koiladi VDC in Saptari district, had been living at Sewa Ashram and Krantikari Bhawan established by Gajendra Babu in Rajbiraj. The victim, who wished to remain anonymous, had been living as a tenant in the same ashram.

According to her, Singh took advantage of a dispute between her and her husband and incited her to file a divorce against her husband.

Later, Singh told her to stay with Shreeram Yadav of Fakira VDC-8. Yadav, who was chief of Sadbhwana Party's Saptari chapter, was a very close friend of Singh.

According to the victim, Yadav hid her at another house for a few days and took her to India through Saptari, where she met Singh again.

“I was taken to Patna, where I was sexually abused for ten days,” said the victim. “When I realized that they were planning to sell me to a brothel, I ran away," she said.

On reaching Rajbiraj, she had filed a complaint at the DPO but my application was rejected. The police registered my complaint only after the court ordered an investigation into the case, she said.

 
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