Pokhara High Court orders to keep Pal Shah in custody

Kathmandu. Actor and model Pal Shah, who is accused of raping a minor, has been remanded in custody by the Pokhara High Court. A joint bench of High Court Judges Ujjwal Shukla and Shridhara Kumari Pudasaini on Thursday evening upheld the order of Tanahu District Court and East Nawalparasi Court.

A bench of Tanahu District Court Judge Harish Chandra Dhungana had on April 26 ordered to send actor Shah to jail for trial. A few days later, the East Nawalparasi District Court also remanded Paul in custody for trial. Pal's lawyer had filed an appeal in the Pokhara High Court against the order of both the district courts.

Kamal Mohan Wagle, Bhanubhakta Subedi, Madhav Ghimire, Jagdish Pandey and Milandhwaj Shahi argued on behalf of Pal Shah in the Pokhara High Court on Thursday while public prosecutor Ishwori Prasad Dhakal argued on behalf of the plaintiffs. The minor and his father, who had filed the complaint against Shah, have returned their statements in the court of Tanahu and Nawalparasi.

The father of the minor had lodged a FIR against Paul at the District Police Office, Tanahu on March 26 and a case of rape was also registered with the Nawalparasi Police on March 30. On the same day, Shah surrendered at the Tanuha Police Office. Shah was detained by Tanahu for 21 days and Nawalparasi police for seven days.

The case was registered in both Tanahu and Nawalparasi courts after the police offices of both the districts handed over the missiles to the government prosecutor's office. The public prosecutor's office of both the districts had registered a case against Shah demanding 12 to 14 years imprisonment and fine of up to Rs 4 lakh as per Article 219 of the Criminal Code, 2074 BS.

A complaint filed by the father of the minor at the Tanahu and Nawalparasi police stations states that Pal Shah repeatedly raped his daughter at various places. He has changed his statement saying that it has not happened.