Nepal

Kathmandu, August 21

Officials of Central Child Welfare Board, with the help of Nepal Police, rescued nine children from an illegally operated child care centre here today.

Police have arrested three persons who were working for the child care centre. According to police, the centre was not registered with government bodies. Police have suspected that those arrested were involved in sexually abusing children in the care centre. Among the children rescued today, five were girls and four were boys. All the children were aged between four and 11. They were rescued from Namuna Pragatisil Mahila Samaj, a social welfare organisation working for women, at Bafal of Nagarjun Municipality, Kathmandu. The organisation was not authorised to operate child centre, according to the officials of Central Child Welfare Board.

Inspector Mohan Bikram Dahal of National Centre for Children at Risk, Bhrikuti Mandap, said they had received information that some children were kept at Namuna Pragatisil Mahila Samaj illegally and they were denied basic human needs, including good food and comfortable living condition. &They were even deprived of education and boys and girls were compelled to live in the same room,& he added.

&Upon reaching there we found that the children were living in a pathetic condition. Two girls living there even hinted that theywere sexually abusedbythe employees of the centre,& he added.

Metropolitan Police Circle, Swoyambhu, has arrested Ratna Bahadur Pariyaar, 35, Sujit Rayamajhi, 40, and Pratap Rana, 45, from the centre, who were working there. Rana has been accused of molesting the girls, according to police. All of the children have been sent to an emergency rescue centre of Child Workers in Nepal. A couple of girls said that someone at the centre used to touch them inappropriately at night, according to Sagar Bhandari, assistant manager of child helpline at CWIN. &We think ita clear case of child sexual abuse, but it will take few more days to bring out the truth,& Bhandari said. DSP Lal Dhoj Subedi of Metropolitan Police Circle, Swoyambhu also said they would file a case of molestation if recommended by the Central Child Welfare Board and other stakeholders. Kopila Kunwar, operator of the centre, refuted all allegations saying that the centre had housed the children as per the requests of their parents, who were living in Kathmandu in rented rooms.

Among nine children, three are from Bardiya district, other three from Kailali, two from Kalikot and one is from Jumla district. Operation of ChildrenHome-2019 requires a childrenhome to have adequate space and rooms for eating, sleeping and studying.

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Kathmandu, August 21

A couple was found dead under mysterious circumstances inside a hotel room at Naya Buspark, Kathmandu, today.

The deceased have been identified as Yum Bahadur Magar, 37, of Chitwan district and Sabina Bajagain, 30, of Makawanpur district.

The manbody was on the bed while the womanbody was lying on the floor, according to police. They were married but not to each other. Fadindra Prasain, Deputy Inspector General of Metropolitan Police Circle, Maharajgunj said the couple had booked the room last night at 11:00pm.

Hotel staffers had called the couple several times in the morning asking them for breakfast. As there was no response from them, the staffers informed the police.

&The bodies have been sent to the forensic department of TU Teaching Hospital for test. We can only say about the cause of death once forensic reports are issued,& DSP Prasain said.

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KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is visiting Singapore again for his health checkup today.

It has been reported that PM Oli, who had returned from Singapore on August 12 after his health check-up, is revisiting Singapore for medicine dose adjustment.

PM Oli is scheduled to travel at 1:30 this afternoon.

The Prime Minister, who had undergone a kidney transplant surgery 12 years ago, is currently on kidney enhancement drug therapy.

PM Oli had met Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar yesterday at his official residence in Baluwatar. Jaishankar is visiting Nepal to attend the fifth Nepal-India Joint Commission meeting.

• PM Oli revisiting Singapore for medical check-up

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KATHMANDU: The fifth meeting of Nepal-India Joint Commission concluded in Kathmandu today evening.

The 35-member Nepali delegation headed by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar leading their respective delegations co-chaired the meeting at Hotel Yak and Yeti this evening.

In the meeting, Minister Gyawali and his Indian counterpart witnessed handing over of two separate cheques for post-earthquake reconstruction and Postal Highway project in Nepal. The cheque equivalent to NRs 2,458,850,000 was handed over to the government of Nepal towards reimbursement for the post-earthquake reconstruction in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts.

Likewise, another cheque equivalent to INRs 807,077,979 was handed over as a part of the Indian governmentcommitment of INRs 5 billion towards strengthening road infrastructure in the Tarai region.

The two ministers also witnessed the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) of Nepal on food safety and standards.

The Joint Commission meeting reviewed the overall state of bilateral relations and various areas of cooperation such as connectivity and economic partnership, trade and transit, power and water resources sectors, culture, education and other matters of mutual interest, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Prior to the joint commission meeting, Indian Minister Jaishankar had held a meeting with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at the latterofficial residence in Baluwatar.

Meanwhile, Minister for Foreign Affairs Gyawali is hosting a dinner in honour of the Indian minister.

The Minister of External Affairs of India is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on President Bidya Devi Bhandari tomorrow morning before making departure to his home.

• Indian Minister of External Affairs arrives in the capital

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