Actor Purna Bikram Shah(Paul Shah) released from Tanahun prison on Monday. He was released after the Pokhara High Court acquitted him of child sex abuse charges.
A joint bench of acting chief judge Dilliraj Acharya and judge Shreedhara Kumari Pudasaini issued the verdict citing a lack of evidence to establish the charge against Shah, according to Bishnu Prasad Acharya, information officer at the high court.
Shah had moved the high court challenging the September 6, 2022 verdict of the Nawalparasi (East) district court, which had sentenced the actor to two years and six months in jail and slapped a fine of Rs25,000 on the charge of molesting a minor. The district court, however, had said the rape charge against him could not be established.
With this order, Shah, who is serving time in Tanahun prison, will be released. Earlier, the Tanahun District Court on January 17 had acquitted the actor who was on trial on the charge of raping a minor in a separate case filed against him in Tanahun. Shah had been under judicial custody in Tanahun prison awaiting a final verdict from the court.
A 17-year-old singer had filed complaints in February, 2022 accusing Shah of raping her in Tanahun and Nawalparasi (East) districts. The 32-year-old actor was taken into custody at the District Police Office in Tanahun on February 27, 2022 after the girl filed the complaint.
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