Arrest warrant issued against singer Astha Raut

Kathmandu District Administration Office has issued an arrest warrant against singer Astha Raut after Ramita Shrestha, a police constable, deployed for airport security filed a complaint of “misconduct” against her.

Senior Superintendent Uttam Subedi, chief of Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range, told the Post that an arrest warrant has been issued against Raut but she is yet to be detained.

After a security check at the Kathmandu airport on Wednesday, Raut had posted a video on Facebook, saying security personnel had misbehaved with her, using demeaning language.

But two days later, a CCTV footage of the security check made its way to some online portals in which the concerned police official, Shrestha, is seen asking Raut to take her jacket off for X-ray scanning. The footage also shows some verbal exchange between the police constable and the singer.

Though the police said they were unaware of how the footage went into the public domain, former police officials told the Post on Saturday that it could have been leaked deliberately to protect the department’s image.

Raut had pulled down her Facebook video, but Shrestha had already filed a complaint against her at the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range.

According to a district administration official, the arrest warrant against Raut was issued as per Section 118 of Criminal Code 2017, which says no one should in a public place or at a place where entry is legally prohibited should in misbehaviour...; and anyone found guilty of this offence could face a jail term of up to one year and Rs10,000 fine.

Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range officials on Sunday had reached the District Administration Office on Sunday afternoon, seeking an arrest warrant against singer Raut.