Raviratna Chudal held following rape allegations by 52-year-old widow

KATHMANDU: Raviratna Chudal, who has been attempting to go viral through sensational interviews on YouTube, was arrested yesterday.

A 52-year-old woman identified as Maharajgunj 48 (name changed), accused him of raping her.

Chudal had rented a shutter in Maharajgunj 48’s house to run a fancy store. Besides the landlord’s family, Chudal was the only other resident.

Maharajgunj 48 is a widow; her husband passed away in 2007, and her two sons currently live abroad.

Chudal, whose relationship with his wife had deteriorated, was living alone.

Maharajgunj 48 claims that Chudal raped her on May 31 of the previous year.

In Nepal, the statute of limitations for rape is one year.

She had been trying to file a complaint since Ashoj.

However, the police initially refused to register her complaint, citing insufficient evidence.

Subsequently, she filed a petition with the High Court.

On Jan 2, the High Court ordered the Kathmandu Police and Maharajgunj Police to register the complaint and proceed with the necessary actions.

The complaint was then officially registered.

Despite the complaint being registered, Chudal had not been arrested for a long time.

Two weeks ago, Maharajgunj 48 gave an interview to a YouTube channel, in which she accused Chudal of blackmailing and raping her, and demanded his arrest. Meanwhile, Chudal continued to provide political commentary on YouTube.

According to the woman, Chudal had been renting her place since July 2, 2016.

“After he bowed to me twice, I trusted him and let him rent the place. I thought of him like a brother, like my own family. But he betrayed me,” she stated in the interview.