http://www.kantipuronline.com/2012/12/28/top-story/pm-declines-to-accept-rais-petition/364805.html

PM declines to accept Rai's petition

• Activist, police scuffle in Baluwatar

An amalgam of young activists staged sit-in outside Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar demanding justice forSita Rai (name changed) who was robbed and allegedly rape d by a government employee.  

Some 200 activists and commoners including CNN Hero Pushpa Basnet, among other representatives from the society, also turned up at Baluwatar to express solidarity with their campaign this morning. They have launched a campaign on Twitter and Facebook and put up a petition online to press the concerned authorities to book the guilty in accordance with the law.

The activists reached Baluwatar at 9 this morning to submit the petition report. However, police on duty did not allow them to trespass gate no.3 of the residence saying the area was 'No Entry' zone.

Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is also learnt to have declined to accept the petition.

It has been reported that the activists scuffled with police during the process of demonstration. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Bhattarai left for Pokhara to participate in one of the programmes during the protest.

Rai, a 21-year old migrant worker, was robbed by immigration officials upon her arrival from Saudi Arabia at the Tribhuvan International Airport and subsequently “ rape d” by a police constable.

On Thursday, the government had decided to dole out Rs 150,000 in compensation to Rai and to take stern action against the accused. However, the government so far has not taken any action against the two officers except suspending them for two months.  

 Sita, a native of Bhojpur, had lodged a complaint last Sunday at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) against Somnath Khanal, a first class senior non-gazetted officer and constable, Parshuram Basnet, accusing them of robbing her of Rs 218,000 at the airport on November 21.

Based on a report prepared by a joint secretary-led probe panel, the MoHA on Monday had suspended other section officers Ram Prasad Koirala and Tika Pokharel for their involvement in the case.  Although Basnet and Khanal are in the police custody, two officers are still at large.

According to a ministry source, Koirala and Pokharel will face a fraud charge. The victim has pressed the government to charge the officers on a case of abuse of authority.