Kathmandu . Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) central committee member Dr. Araniko Pandey has been taken to court for an extension of his custody. Pandey, who was arrested on Wednesday evening, was first presented at the Government Attorney’s Office before being taken to the district court, Cyber Bureau Bhothahiti spokesperson SP Deepak Raj Awasthi being informed.

According to SP Awasthi, Pandey was arrested after a woman lodged a complaint accusing him of verbal abuse and the use of offensive language. Following the issuance of an arrest warrant, Pandey voluntarily appeared at the Cyber Bureau on Wednesday evening. An environmentalist by profession, Pandey had joined RSP in Bhadra 2079 BS under Rabi Lamichhane’s leadership and was later appointed a member of the National Planning Commission in 2080 BS when RSP was part of the government.

Meanwhile, UML central member Ain Mahara also faced legal trouble just a day earlier. A woman filed a complaint accusing him of repeated character assassination on social media. Though the Kathmandu District Court had issued a warrant for his arrest, Mahara avoided spending significant time in detention. After he appeared at the Cyber Bureau, he was sent to the Government Attorney’s Office for custody extension. However, the Attorney’s Office decided against taking him to court and instead released him on bail within three hours.

Reports also confirm that another rape allegation has been filed against Mahara. His wife, who was also named in a separate complaint, appeared alongside him at the Bureau, but she too was released on bail by the Government Attorney’s Office.

The complaint against Mahara had initially been filed via postal service, accusing him of defamation and character assassination. Once he learned of the warrant, Mahara presented himself to the Bureau, claiming to cooperate with the investigation. Earlier, the woman who filed the complaint against Mahara had also been released on bail after he lodged a counter-complaint against her.With both incidents, concerns are being raised as cyber-related cases continue to rise sharply in recent years.