Kathmandu — The Valley Crime Investigation Office has arrested Lumbini Province Assembly member Rekha Sharma.
Sharma, who was elected from the CPN-UML, was arrested from Dhumbarahi on Sunday night. She had been accused of physically abusing a minor domestic worker, and a complaint had been filed with the police by the metropolitan authorities nearly two years ago.
Due to alleged political influence, the case had not progressed earlier. At the time the complaint was filed, then-Mayor Balen Shah had publicly apologized to the victim, stating his inability to take action.
Following his appointment as Prime Minister, Sharma has now been arrested. The victim had claimed that she had been unable to meet her family for six years. The metropolitan office had rescued her on Jestha 14, 2081 (Nepali calendar).
The complaint was filed under the Muluki Criminal Code Act, 2074, under provisions related to the prohibition of enslavement. Earlier, police had not taken Sharma into custody citing the absence of an arrest warrant from the court.
