Former Swanley mayor Shanker Gaire - UK's first Nepalese mayor - speaks out after acquittal over sexual assault claims
06:00, 24 October 2019
A former mayor has spoken of his two years of hell after being falsely accused of sexually assaulting a woman.
Shanker Gaire, from Swanley, was alleged to have cuddled the woman and kissed her while her friend went to get money from a cashpoint.
The 49-year-old was acquitted at Maidstone Crown Court after he was cleared by the jury.
He says he was overwhelmed when hearing the result, but revealed the "horrible lies" had affected his family, including his wife Laxmi, who was also a councillor.
“It wasn’t just me, but my whole family that was hurt,” Mr Gaire said.
“I’m very happy obviously, but the last two years haven’t been good.
“I was happy for my family - my wife, my kids - they were all affected by this as well.”
"I have been a taxi driver for 20 years and never had anything like this happen to me... I think the whole thing was planned and I was targeted" - Shanker Gaire
The jury heard allegations from a woman how the cabbie had allegedly taken advantage of her after stopping at an ATM so her friend could get money.
She alleged Mr Gaire had kissed her before touching her intimately her as they waited in his vehicle.
But the ex-mayor, of Pinks Hill, Swanley, denied carrying out any sexual assaults in his cab.
Mr Gaire became the first Nepalese mayor in the UK in May 2016 but later resigned the same year after claims colleagues’ attitude towards him changed following the Brexit vote.
Now the father-of-two wants his story to be heard so other people can avoid being falsely accused.
He said: “I don’t want this to happen to anyone else, like me.
“I have been a taxi driver for 20 years and never had anything like this happen to me. I think the whole thing was planned and I was targeted.”
The jury heard how he was the victim of a sex attack by the woman, who had been drinking, and put his hand on her breasts while she groped his penis.
“I told her to stop but she didn’t. She put her hand on my private parts and I told her she must stop.
"I said I am married with children and a taxi driver.
"I felt uncomfortable. I felt that this was not right.”
The jury took less than an hour to find Mr Gaire, who was accompanied by his wife throughout the two-day hearing, not guilty of four charges.
The former mayor admitted he’s uncertain whether or not he will return to be a taxi driver as his wife doesn’t want him to.
Mr Gaire claimed he and his wife were banned from attending a council meeting in April because of the allegations.
But chief executive Steve Nash explained they were automatically removed from the council for failing to attend for six months.
