Appellate Court Rajbiraj has awarded a jail sentence of 10 years to 33-year-old Harendra Dev of Kanchanpur VDC-9 on January 7 on the charge of raping a 9-year-old girl. The court also fined him Rs 75,000. The division bench of Chief Judge Ishwari Prasad Khatiwada and Judge Umesh Kumar Singh partially overturned the District Court verdict of rape attempt and convicted him of rape. District Judge Durga Prasad Dhungel had sentenced him to six years in jail on May 7, 2014, for attempted rape of the girl. Dev had raped the girl on April 27, 2013, when she had gone to his shop to buy tobacco for her grandfather and chocolate for herself. Dev, working at Gobargadha Sub-health post, also had a pharmacy and convenience store at his own house.

The family filed an FIR against Dev on the same day after which he fled to India. He was arrested at around 7.30 at Ranigunj of Supaul district in Bihar with the support of India police. His medical checkup was conducted on the same day at Sagarmatha Zonal Hospital. The single bench of Ritendra Thapa remanded him in custody on May 24, 2013. Dev moved Appellate Court a month later asking for acquittal while the girl’s family moved Appellate Court on August 4 demanding additional sentence.