Surkhet, December 22
Police in the Surkhet district of Karnali have arrested a priest and two shamans on the charge of abusing a woman in the name of a ritual.
The arrestees are Bhupendra Gyawali (66) from Birendranagar-11, Bhakti Gyawali (39) from Birendranagar-7, and Milan Gyawali (19) from Barahatal-8. They have been accused of abusing a woman from Khajura of the Banke district who was attending a family ritual in Dasharathpur, Lekbedi municipality-4 of Surkhet.
Inspector Kanak Bahadur Shahi of the District Police Office says the District Court has already given permission to the police to keep them in custody for further investigation.
Shahi says the police launched an investigation after a video clip of the woman being abused had gone viral on social media and the alleged abuse survivor has not filed any complaint yet.
The five-minute-18-second video shows the trio beating up and abusing the woman claiming they are manifestations of the god.
Human rights activists in the district say they have perceived this incident as a serious human rights violation and will raise voices for action against the culprit.
