Birtamod ex-mayor Siwakoti arrested on rape charges

By Lilaraj Khadka,Biratmod, Dec. 11: Former mayor of Birtamod Municipality, Dhruba Kumar Siwakoti, has been arrested on charges of repeatedly raping a 15-year-old minor girl he hired to work at his own house.

A complaint has been filed at the Area Police Office, Birtamod, alleging that 68-year-old Siwakoti, a resident of Birtamod Municipality-5, Jhapa, has repeatedly raped a 15-year-old girl he hired to work at home, Krishna Bahadur Chand, Police Spokesperson at the District Police Office, Jhapa, told The Rising Nepal. 

After repeatedly raping her, the victim fled the home and was about to go somewhere else, when the Area Police Office, Kakadbhitta, at the Nepal-India border, found her and questioned her. 

It is said that the girl's relatives are not in Nepal and when she was about to go to her relatives in India, the police found her from the Nepal-India border. 

In connection with the complaint, the Area Police Office, Birtamod, arrested Siwakoti from his home on Monday. 

According to the police,  Siwakoti was admitted to the hospital on Monday evening after he complained about his health problem. After being arrested, Siwakoti was taken to the Provincial Hospital in Bhadrapur for a health check-up. After he felt unwell there, he was admitted to the B&C Hospital.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Prakash Bista, Chief of the Area Police Office, Birtamod, said that a written complaint was registered against Siwakoti on behalf of the minor victim at the Area Police Office, Birtamod, on Monday. 

Bista said that Siwakoti would be taken to the Jhapa District Court for an extension of his remand on Tuesday. Similarly, the health of the victim girl has been examined.

It has been revealed that Siwakoti had repeatedly raped the minor, who had been working as a domestic worker in his house in Birtamod-5 for about eight years.

After the death of the victim's father, the teenager had been living with a relative in Birtamod. The girl, who had no relatives, was raised at home by the then-mayor, Siwakoti, who said he would take her into his care. The girl said that she was raped last time on November 30 while she was studying.