Nepal Parliament Speaker Resigns After Rape Allegation

Kathmandu: The Speaker of Nepal's Parliament resigned on Tuesday following an allegation that he raped a woman staffer while he was intoxicated.

Krishna Bahadur Mahara's resignation follows a meeting of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) that asked him to step down as the Speaker and member of Parliament, a day after the woman alleged that the politician assaulted her at her rented apartment.

"In the wake of media reports questioning my moral character, I am resigning on the moral ground to facilitate an impartial and fair investigation into the allegations," read Mahara's resignation letter, according to the Kathmandu Post.

Mahara -- one of the country's leading Communist Party leaders -- however, said in the letter that he has resigned until the investigation is completed.

He had initially denied the allegation, calling it an attempt to "assassinate his character".

The allegation surfaced on Monday after the victim -- a staffer at the Parliament secretariat -- claimed that Mahara came to her house intoxicated on Sunday evening and raped her while her husband was away.

The allegation was made in a video released by the online news portal Hamro Kura. The woman said she had known Mahara for years and that he had behaved indecently with her in the past as well. (IANS)

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