The accused former mayor, who was arrested on November 24, spent six months in the hospital.
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The High Court of Biratnagar has ordered the bail of the former head of Virtamod Municipality of Jhapa, Dhruv Kumar Sivakoti, who is accused of rape. After his arrest on 24th of November last, he was admitted to the hospital citing health reasons.
The joint bench of Judge Kiran Kumar Pokharel and Rekha Pandey Thapa in the Elam bench on Thursday ordered the release of Sivakoti on a bond of 2 million. With this order, he will be released from prison on Sunday. After this order, the victims who were hoping to get justice have become disappointed.
With the news of his release, especially the victim girl and her family have become dissatisfied . A common question has been raised from social media to legal circles, what kind of message does it send if the accused stays in the hospital in a serious case like rape and finally released on bail?
Detention while staying in the hospital, prison while staying in the hospital, and now free
Sivakoti, who was elected as the head of Virtamod Nagar from UML in 2074, was arrested by the police on 24th of December last . It was alleged that he repeatedly raped a 15-year-old girl who was kept for domestic work. After the girl was rescued from Kakdavitta, the police proceeded with the investigation on the initiative of organizations working against trafficking in girls like Nepal.
However, he has been hospitalized since the day he was arrested. He did not have to go to the police office for a single day while the police investigated for about a month. The police reached the hospital. took the same statement .
On January 22, District Court Jhapa ordered to keep him in custody for preliminary investigation. However, he did not even have to go to jail. Sivakoti spent about five months in the VIP cabin at B&C Hospital from the day of his arrest till now. He did not have to go to jail based on the court's order that he should take care of his health.
"If our laws are equal for everyone, where is the equal treatment", a relative of the victim expressed his displeasure and said, "Being in the hospital for such a serious crime and now being released on bail has become a joke of our justice system." As he had no parents, he was assured that Sivakoti would keep him at home and teach him. However, that belief became the biggest betrayal of his life.
Unable to bear repeated rapes, she left home and went to India. His mother is in Assam, India. When he was about to cross the border in his campus uniform to meet his mother, he was questioned by his relatives in Nepal. Former mayor Sivakoti was arrested on the basis of the statement he gave in the interrogation.
Former Mayor Sivakoti undergoing treatment in the cabin of V&C Hospital in Jhapa. Image: Social network
