Prakash Ojha: Case of the X

by DAMBAR KRISHNA SHRESTHA

FROM ISSUE # 112 (April 2005) | IN THIS ISSUE
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Prakash Ojha, who has been accused in the pending case of sexual exploitation of four women, including a child, claims that he has been falsely accused

High profile court battles involving pop icons are nothing new in this day and age. The live broadcast of OJ Simpson's high- speed police chase of the last decade, Coby Bryant's sexual assault case in 2003 and the legendary rock guitarist Pete Townshend's [Who] arrest over his pedophile porn collection are just a few leaders of this pack. But incidents like these are only things we read on papers and watch on TV. The distance between our TV sets and us makes it seem like celebrity scandals are worlds away. All that changed last month.

Prakash Ojha, a Nepali pop-culture figure known for his humor, music and charity work, was accused last month in the pending case of sexual exploitation of four women, including a child. It didn't take long for the media in Kathmandu to print sketchy reports, breaking the news nationally. This quickly provoked many TV and Radio stations to boycott the artist. In fact, a music video chart show on Nepal Television boycotted his music video despite the fact that it held the number 1 spot that week. The general public and fans remained confused- "what happened?" "Really?" "Did he really?" "What!" "He couldn't have!"

"Its sort of hard to believe that he did this," said a resident of Itahari, Ojha's hometown in Eastern Nepal. "But they said he did do it." So what did Prakash Ojha do?

Prakash Ojha, who entered the music scene in 1997 with his debut album Jhyanapultung and is also famous for his comedic role in a Nepali Tele-serial called Tite Kareli, has been indicted of taking nude pictures of a 13-year-old girl and of filming himself while indulging in sexual intercourse with another 17-year-old girl. After hearing Ojha's confessions in court on March 9th, the judge ordered that he be put in jail until the case comes to a conclusion.

Prakash, who spoke to WAVE while in custody, claims that he used to work with the woman who lodged the case against him and that they had indulged in consensual sex but it was wrong of him to video-tape it with his digital camera. He claims that the woman has been spurred on by others to lodge this case against him. A police source told WAVE that the 10-minute long sex video shows the girl to be having sex willingly and Prakash can be seen only from the back, i.e. his face is not actually seen.

"Yes, it was my mistake to take the pictures and the video and for that I am prepared to face punitive action. But people are adding false charges against me in an attempt to keep me behind bars for a long time," Prakash told WAVE. He has, however, been accused of allegedly making and selling pornography and promoting child prostitution. "I have no need to make and sell pornography or promote prostitution. I can make Rs. 80,000 from one stage show and I have been able to make thousands of rupees with my talent. Why would I need to resort to such work?" says Prakash. "I have already admitted to the mistakes I have made in front of the Judge and expressed my heart felt regrets and for these mistakes I would like to ask my audience and society for forgiveness."

"There is a conspiracy to keep me in jail for 15 to 16 years. I am not saying I am innocent, I am saying I must be punished only according to my crime." He also says that he knows he will be released soon and when he is he will bring the people conspiring against him out in the open. For now, Prakash is serving sentence in the Biratnagar Jail.