PROSECUTORS SAY MAINALI NOT GUILTY OF RAPING JAPANESE WOMAN Kathmandu, 29 Oct.: Prosecutors at the Tokyo High Court on Monday said that Govinda Prasad Mainali (45), who was convicted of killing a Japanese woman after raping her in 1997, was not guilty, making his acquittal certain, Kyodo News Agency reported, The Himalayan Times writes. Reading a document at the court in the retrial of the case, the prosecutors said that Mainali was "innocent" and "the possibility of another person being the culprit cannot be denied" based on current evidence. "We are extremely sorry for keeping him detained for a very long time," Takayuki Aonuma, deputy head of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office, said in a statement. Mainali, who served 15 years in jail, had filed a plea for retrial in 2005. He was freed in June this year after DNA test results showed that he was not the killer. He was subsequently deported to Nepal. The DNA in a sample taken from the victim’s nails did not match that of Mainali but it matched that of semen found inside the victim's body leading to the Tokyo High Court granting him a retrial, according to the Kyodo News Agency. A permanent resident of Ilam district in eastern Nepal. Mainali had moved to Japan to work at a restaurant. In December 2000, he was convicted of the 1997 murder of former Tokyo Electric Power Co. employee and was sentenced to life in prison. The verdict was finalised in October 2003. The reinvestigation was made possible by an April 2010 revision of the criminal law that abolished the statute of limitations in capital crimes, according to The Japan Times. Nnnn BUDDHA RELIC ON DISPLAY FOR WORSHIP Kathmandu, 29 Oct.: The relic of Gautam Buddha has been put on display at the Aksheshwar Mahavihar, Pulchowk on Monday for the general public to pay obeisance, RSS reports. The rare relic of the Buddha collected after his last rites is considered the most sacred of the Buddha's relics. Prachanda Shakya, a local had brought the relic from Sri Lanka many years back. It had been consecrated at the Aksheshwar Mahavihar. Nnnn 15 INJURED IN GULMI JEEP ACCIDENT Kathmandu, 29 Oct.: At least 15 persons were injured Monday in a jeep accident at Gulmi. The vehicle going to Butwal from Thulo Lumpek fell 50 metres off the road nnnn EU DIPLOMAT MEETS RAM CHANDRA PAUDEL Kathmandu, 29 Oct.: Chief of the Mission of the European Union to Nepal, India, and Bhutan, Maria Castillo Fernandez held talks with Nepali Congress Vice President Ramchandra Paudel at the latter's residence at Bohoratar in the capital on Monday, RSS reports. They discussed Nepal's latest political development and the talks being held between parties for an outlet. Expressing happiness over the progress in peace process, Maria showed concern how the crisis of Constituent Assembly (CA) election, constitution writing and political crisis will be resolved, said Poudel. In the meeting, Poudel said they had prioritized talks and dialogue for resolving whatever stalemate arises in the country. Also present on the occasion was European Union Ambassador to Nepal, Alexander Spachis. nnnn