Nepal rape case: External Affairs ministry, Saudi Arabian embassy look for way out

NEW DELHI: New Delhi and Riyadh are quietly working to enable the latter to withdraw its diplomat accused of gang rape of two Nepali citizens from India. In a tight balancing act, the governments of the two nations are understood to be working on a formula that will be acceptable to both sides, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Arab nation.

Senior government officials told ET that the formula that MEA and Saudi embassy were working on would see the diplomat withdrawn voluntarily in the near future. This may be done in a way that would not seem like admission of guilt by Riyadh, official sources said.

Officials did not give a timeframe when the diplomat will be withdrawn but noted that Riyadh has been given a cooling off period to act on the issue. It is understood that the Saudi embassy is waiting for the public scrutiny to slow down to act on the diplomat’s case. However, if the embassy does not voluntarily withdraw the diplomat, the Modi government may have to ask Riyadh to withdraw the immunity of the concerned diplomat for him to be prosecuted or may take measures for his expulsion.

The interest shown by National Security Adviser Ajit Kumar Doval in the case is obvious given the importance of keeping bilateral intact, officials privately said.