CPN-UML lawmaker Mohan Baniya, who has been accused of raping a woman, has been suspended.

Baniya allegedly raped a 40-year-old woman at a Nepalgunj-based hotel on February 2. The victim lodged the complaint against him at the District Police Office in Banke on February 10.

Speaker Agni Sapkota during Sunday’s Parliament meeting read out a letter from the District Police Office, Banke informing the House of the ongoing investigation into a rape charge against Baniya in Nepalgunj.

“I inform the members of the Parliament that the District Police Office, Banke has notified us of an ongoing investigation into lawmaker Mohan Baniya, who was arrested on February 28 on a rape charge,” said Speaker Sapkota.

With the suspension of Baniya, the main opposition will have 97 votes in Parliament. Two Nepali Congress lawmakers Bijay Gachchhar and Mohammad Aftab Alam and two Janata Samajbadi lawmakers Hari Narayan Rauniyar and Resham Chaudhary also remain suspended for a long time.

Police arrested Baniya, elected to the House of Representatives from Mugu in 2017, from Nepalgunj Airport in Banke district on February 28 after a rape charge was lodged against him. The Banke District Court remanded him into custody for investigation.