GOVT. DECIDES TO SPEND MONEY OF NEPAL TRUST Kathmandu, 19 April: The cabinet Thursday authorized the expenditure of Rs. 32.5 million among the amount of property with the Nepal Trust for its conservation, said Spokesperson Paudel. The assets of King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, Crown Prince Dipendra and Prince Niranjan were nationalized by government and kept in the Trust. nnnn NEPALI WOMAN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED IN NEW DELHI- Kathmandu, 19 Aprl: :A Nepali woman working as a housemaid here has been sexually assaulted by a group of men. The married woman in her early twenties from Sindupalchowk district was found semi-nude and in a semi-conscious state in Motibagh area of New Delhi on Thursday morning, India n media reported, quoting eyewitnesses, Mahesh Acharya writes in The Kathmandu Post from New Delhi.. Subsequently, the woman was taken to the nearest police station and then to the Safdarjung Hospital. The victim’s condition is ‘normal’ now, police said. Police officials investigating the case, however, claimed that allegations of rape could not be established. “Though it is clear that the girl has been sexually assaulted, medical reports could not establish that she was rape d,” said Chhaya Sharma, the Deputy Commissioner of Police for South Delhi. She told the Post that the woman has no external or internal injuries. However, police have filed the case under a legal provision that envisions punishment for gang- rape . “We have registered the case under Article 328 of the India n Penal Code as well as the newly-inducted provision of 376 (D),” Sharma said. While Article 328 is related to the crime of stupefying people with the intention to harm or assault them against their will, the new provision inducted after the infamous Delhi rape incident in December last year is related to gang- rape . Cops’ version of incident According to the police, the woman ‘willingly’ took a lift in a car from a place called Chirag Delhi on Wednesday night. The person in the car then called his two friends to join him and they allegedly had a couple of drinks with the woman. She was then reportedly dumped in Gurgaon and after that an auto rickshaw dropped her in Motibagh. The men are yet to be identified, police said. “The victim then apparently could not figure out what exactly happened after the drinks. The next day in the morning, she found herself in an inebriated condition,” DCP Sharma said. She added that though the condition of the victim is now normal, she has been changing her statement. “The victim seems to be confused about the whole incident. She even does not remember the car and the people who gave her the lift,” Sharma said. Demand for justice The Post’s attempts to meet the victim and her relatives failed. Nepali organisations in Delhi have complained that police have been barring the victim’s husband from talking to the media. “Police have so far been giving a one-sided interpretation. Even we are not allowed to meet the victim’s husband,” said Kavi Karki, the president of the Delhi-based Help Nepali Mission. India ns of Nepali origin have also extended their support to pressure the authorities to speed up investigations into the matter. They have demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice. “Delhi has become the capital of rape . Until and unless stern measures are taken, such incidents will continue,” said Shyam Sen Tamang who is associated with the youth wing of the India n Congress. Nnnn CHINA’S XI EXPRESSES CONCERN WITH MAOIST CHIEF ON ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS Kathmandu, 19 April: UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Thursday met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Dahal, who is currently on a week-long visit to China , is the first south Asian leader to meet Xi in China after the once-in-a-decade leadership handover formally happened in March. In the meeting with Dahal, Xi, according to Xinhua news agency, said that China -Nepal friendship is not only in the fundamental interest of the two countries and people, but also conducive to stability and development in the region. During the meeting, Xi was concerned about the new Constituent Assembly elections and promulgating of a new constitution. He was also concerned about the political situation in Nepal and the CA elections, Dahal’s aide Chudamani Khadka told the Post. Requesting to hold the CA elections soon, Xi assured all kinds of Chinese assistance for holding the polls, a press note provided by Dahal’s secretariat said. Briefing Xi on the latest political situation in Nepal and preparations for holding the elections, Dahal sought China ’s “goodwill” for conducting free and fair polls and promulgating a new constitution. Xi, also the general secretary of the Communist party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said China attaches great importance to bilateral ties with Nepal and appreciated Nepal’s adherence to the one- China Policy. He said China supports Nepal’s efforts in achieving national progress and development, Xinhua reported. In response, Dahal said Nepal will continue to adhere to the one- China policy and that Nepal will not allow any anti- China activities in Nepali soil, his aides said. China is ready to work with Nepal to cement the neighbourly friendship and boost reciprocal cooperation to further advance the two countries’ comprehensive cooperative partnership, which features a permanent friendship, Xinhua quoted Xi as telling Dahal. Enhancing party-to-party relationship was another agenda that the two leaders discussed during their 45- minute meeting. XI said the CPC will increase exchanges with the UCPN (Maoist) and other major political parties in Nepal to further strengthen the friendship between the two sides. The Chinese President congratulated Dahal on being re-elected the party’s Chairman in the party’s seventh general convention recently, while Dahal also congratulated Xi for taking up the Chinese leadership for the next 10 years. Dahal, according to his aides, sought more Chinese investment and technical support from China , mainly in the hydropower, agriculture and tourism sectors. Before leaving for China , Dahal had said that the main focus of his visit would be economic matters and that he would ask the Chinese side for investments in big development projects in Nepal. Dahal is scheduled to return home on Saturday. His aides said he will make preparations to visit India soon after his arrival here. nnnn