Siddha Baba Escapes to India: Was It a Security Lapse?

Siddha Baba has been a controversial person. The self-proclaimed godman boasted that he had superhuman capabilities that included flying in the air, sit under the earth and so on. But that all came crashing down as a rape case was lodged against him.

However, we must admit that Siddha Baba does have contact with people in high positions. He has been seen with former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Indian ambassador to Nepal – Ranjit Ray. Interestingly, former Speaker of House, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who is accused of rape attempt, was also friends with Siddha Baba.

On December 1, acting on the rape complaint, police tried to arrest him but at that time Siddhababa was in a nursing home for cardiac arrest. So the police did not arrest him that day.

As the legal proceedings went ahead, on December 30, Sunsari District Court ordered for his release on a bail of 3 lakhs.

On January 23rd, there was a hearing scheduled in the court for his case but that very day Sidhhababa escaped to India from Jogbani check post. Meanwhile, the Judges delivering in this case at the Biratnagar High Court ruled to send Siddha Baba aka Krishna Das Giri to prison.

These developments raise the question how did a rape accused person out in a bail leave Nepal? After leaving Nepal, it will certainly be very hard for Nepalese Police to arrest him. Did his contacts at high positions help him flee? Will Siddha Baba ever return to face justice? We do not know the answers to these questions.

There was little optimism in the country after some high profile arrests in the country, Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Mohammad Aftab Alam. This incident has again diminished the faith of Nepalis on the state’s security apparatus. Let us not forget, providing justice should be the number one priority of the government. It might take time and effort to develop a country, but providing justice comes easy and cheap.