Almost one year after migrant worker Sita, who returned from Saudi Arabiya as domestic help, was robbed and raped by airport officials the Kathmandu District Court on Friday ordered one year sentence to police constable Parshuram Basnet and non-gazzetted officer SomnathKhanal charging them of robbing and sexually exploiting the 21 year old migrant worker. However, the court acquitted section officers from the immigration department Tikaram Pokharel and Ram Prasad Koirala.
"It is unfortunate that the court handed such lenient sentence for case that where robbery led to rape of a helpless woman," Sita's lawyer Lakshmi Rai told Nepali Times. People convicted in fraud can be sentenced up to five years in prison. "Giving a clean chit to the two section officers citing there weren't sufficient evidence is an injustice to Sita," she said.
Last November Sita was detained for travelling on a fake passport and then robbed by the airport officials who took Rs 2,20,000 from her. " The court has ordered a compensation of rupees five thousand which is nothing compared to the amount she was robbed off and the physical and mental trauma she had go through afterwards," Rai added. "The court's ruling on Sita's case will discourage many from seeking justice from Nepal's judiciary."