Former Nepal Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who was arrested in October after a parliament secretariat staffer accused him of attempting to rape her, was on Monday acquitted by a court due to lack of evidence.
The first high profile politician to be tried for sexual assault allegation, Mahara was arrested on October 6 last year after the parliament secretariat staffer filed an FIR accusing him of attempting to rape her on September 29 at her rented apartment in Kathmandu, the Himalayan Times reported.
Mahara, also a Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leader, was the Speaker of the House of Representatives when he faced the allegations and the ruling party asked for his resignation, which he tendered albeit initial hesitance.
He was remanded into judicial custody on November 4. He denied the charge and moved the Patan High Court challenging the District Court's order on November 21. The High Court, however, rejected his plea upholding the original decision.
Kathmandu District Court on Monday, however, acquitted Mahara on the grounds of insufficient evidence to prove the charge levelled against him and decided to release him from detention.
He will be released on Monday itself after staying in custody for over 100 days, a large portion of which he spent in Thapathali-based Norvic International Hospital.
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