Kathmandu, April 23 -- On April 17, Shefali called for a Pathao ride from Jawalakhel to Durbarmarg at around 2 in the afternoon. The rider who showed up was a middle-aged man, possibly in his 30s. During the ride, the man kept asking Shefali to sit closer to him, because she was "making the bike unstable" by sitting away from him.

"There was hardly any space between us to begin with and when he put on the brakes, the whole of my front would be against him," said the 26-year-old, who asked that she be identified only by her first name. "Every time I would try to move away, he would tell me to move closer. He even touched my leg telling me to move closer. It was extremely uncomfortable."

Panic-stricken, Shefali hurriedly got off the bike ...