Kathmandu, June 21
The Kathmandu District Court has ordered Manoj Pandey, a consultancy operator and a beauty pageant organiser, be sent to judicial custody.
Pandey has been accused of drugging, raping and blackmailing a minor after a beauty pageant organised by him. Police arrested him on May 21 after a series of videos were released by the survivor.
SP Dinesh Raj Mainali said that the court has booked him for offences related to human trafficking and smuggling.
Manoj Pandey has been taken to Dillibazar Prison.
But, a bench of judge Prakash Dhungana granted Pandey bail on the charges of child sexual abuse.
Police had recorded statements of former Miss Nepal Malvika Subba, who was the choreographer of the pageant organised by Pandey. The survivor had tried to seek Subba’s help, but Subba allegedly did not help her.
Following her video, a series of protests took place around the country demanding justice for the survivor. There was even pressure to remove the statute of limitations on rape that had made it hard for the survivor to file a complaint against Pandey.
