Instagram acquaintance, In Dillibazar
Meeting, sexual intercourse in dormitory and rape case
Sandeep Bohara is facing a case of minor rape after he took a 14-year-old minor to his dormitory after meeting her on the social media Instagram.
Although the victim filed a complaint claiming that they had sexual intercourse against her will, based on the details mentioned in the complaint and the victim’s statement, it appears that the sexual intercourse was consensual.
However, since Nepal’s existing law considers sexual intercourse with a minor to be rape even if it is with the consent of the minor, a case has been filed against Bohara in the Kathmandu District Court.
According to the details mentioned in the complaint filed on Wednesday, 18-year-old Sandeep and the victim, a 14-year-old girl, saw each other live and later started chatting on Instagram Messenger. After chatting for about a month, the girl came to the young man’s room in Dillibazaar as agreed to meet on Valentine’s Day.
The young man shared a flat with his friends. It is seen in the statements of both that they stayed in the same room together in the evening and had sexual intercourse. The young man claims that the sexual intercourse was consensual, while the girl said it was against her will.
Incident from acquaintance on Instagram to dormitory
According to the charge sheet, on November 2, 2002, at around 12:00 pm, Sandeep called the victim through Instagram Messenger to say, “Let’s meet today.” Sandeep had asked her to come to Dillibazaar by sending a bike. When the victim girl came to Dillibazaar, Sandeep took her to his dormitory in Ghattekulo.
After reaching the dormitory, Sandeep closed the door and initially had a normal conversation. According to the girl’s statement, he later tried to forcefully kiss her. When the girl tried to resist, he forcibly removed her clothes and raped her.
According to the victim’s statement, when the victim girl tried to go home, Sandeep pressured her by saying, “Call your sister, tell her that I am at my friend’s house.” After the girl called home and told him the same, she stayed at Sandeep’s dormitory all night and that night Sandeep raped her repeatedly.
The next day of the incident, on Mangsir 3, the victim returned to her home in the morning. Some time later, at around 5 am on Mangsir 4, Sandeep called her again and invited her to meet him. Although the girl was late, she reached Sandeep’s house around 6 am.
Although it was normal at first, after some time, Sandeep started forcibly kissing her again. According to the statement, the girl did not agree, but Sandeep forcibly removed her clothes and raped her again. The girl returned from Sandeep’s room at around 11 am.
After being questioned about where she had gone to after she started living outside, the girl apparently told her relatives about the incident. After that, the family took her to the police office to file a complaint. Bohara was arrested.
There is some consistency between the young man’s statement and the girl’s statement. It is clear that the girl lied about studying in class 9 and said that she was studying in class 12. However, her statement does not reveal her age. According to the accused, the girl had stated her age as 18.
He called her to the house because he wanted to meet her. The accused claims that initially they watched the movie with all their friends in the dorm, but when he said it was uncomfortable to watch the movie with everyone, they both sat alone in the room and got aroused while watching the movie.
There is no reason why he would come to the dorm again the second day if he had committed the crime against his will on the first meeting. But the girl has come. In her statement, the girl has said that she told them about the relationship after she became suspicious and asked at home. They claim that the incident was revealed when her relatives started asking her.
According to the charge sheet submitted to the court, during the medical examination of the victim, it was revealed that her genitals were injured. The medical report has confirmed that she had a hymen tear, which appears to have been rape.
In addition, evidence of a conversation between Sandeep and the victim girl on Instagram Messenger has also been submitted in the charge sheet.
Although Sandeep has given a statement that he had a sexual relationship voluntarily, a charge sheet has been registered against him as according to the law, having sexual contact with a person under the age of 18, even if it is consensual, is considered ‘rape’.
According to Section 219 of the Criminal Code of Nepal, 2074, there is a provision of imprisonment for 12 to 14 years for raping a 14-year-old girl.
Similarly, according to Section 67 of the Children’s Act, 2075, more stringent action can be taken against the perpetrator of child sexual abuse.
