Police have arrested Amrit Kumar Ghale, the economic advisor to Urban Development State Minister Rambir Manandhar, on charges of kidnapping, hostage-taking and raping a 17-year-old girl.

The 52-year-old was arrested on February 13 after the minor girl’s parents filed a complaint with the police suspecting her abduction.

According to police, Ghale had given the teenager a lift on his way to Kathmandu from Sindhuli. The girl, who lives with her elder sister and her husband in Kathmandu, was returning from her hometown in Sindhuli, where Ghale is well known.

Upon reaching Kathmandu, Ghale had taken the girl to his Tokha-based flat, held her captive, and raped her multiple times. On the fourth day of her abduction, the girl had somehow managed to call her brother-in-law from Ghale’s phone and informed him about her ordeal.

The teenager’s brother-in-law then lodged a police complaint at the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range. Police tracked the phone call and traced it to Ghale’s apartment. They also arrested Ghale from the apartment.

Police investigation showed that Ghale had also coerced the girl to keep silent about the incident with a promise to take her to the US, where Ghale’s wife and children currently reside.