Under pressure after widespread protests and the House directive to take swift action, police on Saturday took Manoj Pandey, who has been accused of rape by a former beauty pageant participant who aspired to be a model, into custody.
The Crime Division of Nepal Police said Pandey was arrested from the Swayambhu area in Kathmandu on Saturday afternoon.
“We have taken Manoj Pandey into custody for an investigation,” said a senior official at the crime branch on the condition of anonymity. “It is part of our investigation into the charges he faces.”
Pandey, the owner of Model Global Visas Consultancy, was arrested days after the woman on Wednesday posted a series of videos on TikTok in which she shared details of episodes wherein she was sexually harassed by multiple men, including Pandey.
The survivor, now 24, was 16 when she was first raped and sexually abused.
The young girl’s videos quickly drew a flurry of reactions, with people across social networks showing an immense outpouring of support and outrage.
Youths gathered in hundreds today at Baluwatar in solidarity with the survivor who recently narrated her experiences of serial sexual abuse on social media.
The participants demanded action against the rapists , that the state ensure justice for survivors of sexual assault and also demand that the prevalent laws on rape be corrected, with immediate effect.
