Govinda’s elder brother Indra shared with The Post the preparations being made to welcome Govinda. He would be taken to his Shankhamul-based home, where a small puja will be performed to “drive away evils”. At Union House, Anamnagar, Govinda will talk to the media on Saturday evening.

 

“However, Govinda has been advised by his lawyers not to give any interview to the media,” said Indra, adding that Govinda, along with his wife and two daughters Mithila and Elisa, will also be accompanied by a number of Japanese media persons and the Mainali Help Committee. Following Govinda’s release on June 7, the Nepali Embassy in Tokyo approved his travel permit on Thursday.

 

Happiest will probably be Govinda’s 79-year-old mother Chandra Kala, whose husband died five years ago calling Govinda’s name. “I had almost lost hope for his release. I had started even to think I would die without seeing my son,” she said. “I wish Govinda’s father were among us to share the joy.” 

 

Mainali was arrested and jailed in connection with the rape and murder of a Japanese woman in 1997. However, after a recent DNA test proved that it was not Govinda’s semen that the woman’s dead body had conceived, the Tokyo High Court’s 15-year-old verdict turned awry. Eventually, following a retrial, Govinda was acquitted of all the charges.

 

Mainali, who hails from Ilam district, according to his elder brother Indra, was preparing to come back to Nepal and live with his family when he was arrested.

 

“1997 was his fourth year in Japan,” Indra said. “He had already built a house in Kathmandu and his wife and daughters were planning to shift to the Capital.” Govinda’s wife and daughters have gone to Japan to bring him back.