Kathmandu, Nov. 4 -- Four days after his arrest on October 6, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the former Speaker of the House who is currently facing charges of attempted rape, was moved to Norvic Hospital after he complained of health problems. It has been nearly a month since Mahara was taken into custody by police and he has spent almost all of that time in the hospital. Even when he was produced before the judge for his detention hearing on Sunday, the police took him to court from the hospital and duly deposited him back.

Mahara is not an anomaly. Whenever high-profile people are accused of crimes and taken into custody for investigation, they immediately come down with an ailment and are admitted to hospital, excusing them from spending ni...