JANAKPURDHAM, Feb 17: Police are still without leads in the shooting murder of sub-engineer Pramod Yadav on Sunday evening in Malangwa, Sarlahi. In protest, employees of the Sarlahi District Court suspended services throughout the day, demanding a swift and impartial investigation and that those responsible be brought to justice. Authorities have yet to find any leads. Highlighting the severity, officials noted that in the last six months, 56 people have been killed in Madhesh Province.
According to DSP Saroj Rai, spokesperson at the District Police Office (DPO), Sarlahi, CCTV footage and other evidence are being examined to trace the shooter. He assured that those involved will soon face legal action. The 36-year-old Yadav, a resident of Baishakha Gaun, Sukhipur Municipality-6, Siraha, had been staying at Durga Nand Yadav’s house in Devi Tole, Malangwa Municipality-10, Sarlahi. On Sunday evening, unknown assailants on a motorcycle called him outside and shot him in the chest. He worked as a sub-engineer at the Infrastructure Development Office in Malangwa.
Yadav was rushed to the Provincial Hospital, Malangwa, but doctors declared him dead upon arrival at 8:30 PM, DSP Rai said. The incident occurred about two kilometers north of the Sarlahi police headquarters. Security checks have been tightened across Malangwa, with large police deployments in suspicious areas. “Investigations are ongoing to determine who shot Sub-Engineer Yadav and why,” Rai added.
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Meanwhile, Rajkumar Gupta, Minister for Physical Infrastructure of Madhesh Province, has urged the Provincial Chief of Police (DIG) Govind Thapliya to intensify the investigation into the murder of the government employee. He said the incident is extremely tragic and has caused fear in the local population, despite strengthened security arrangements during the election period. Shivshankar Yadav, a candidate from Siraha-2, expressed sorrow over the incident and called for the culprit to be identified and brought to justice, with relief provided to the victim’s family.
Following Yadav’s murder, a brutal killing of a woman occurred on Monday in Rautahat. Aarti Devi Yadav, 28, wife of Mahant Yadav of Petbharwa, Phatuwa Bijaypur Municipality-6, was allegedly murdered with a sharp weapon to the neck in her bedroom. Mahant Yadav is currently at large, police said. Two weeks earlier, in Siraha Municipality-7, Yadav had been shot while plowing his field with a tractor near Mainabatti Khola. According to DSP Ramesh Bahadur Pal of DPO, Siraha, he was shot twice—one bullet to the chest and another to the back. No arrests have been made, and the motive and identity of the assailants remain unknown, leaving locals terrified.
Other incidents in the province include the discovery of 73-year-old Rasodevi Yadav in Mahottari’s Gaushala Municipality-1, who had gone missing on January 28 and was later found dead near her sugarcane field. In Bara’s Parwanipur Municipality-1, armed assailants attacked the family of Jagruk Mandal around 2 AM, killing the mother and son on the spot while injuring three others, including the father. Investigations revealed the attack may have been motivated by an extramarital relationship between Manita and Dharmendra Mahato Dhanu. Both have been arrested, and investigations are ongoing.
According to SSP Kamal Thapa, these incidents, although serious, are largely due to personal and familial disputes and cannot be directly linked to politics or elections.
During the first six months of FY 2082/83 BS, Madhesh Province recorded 56 murders, 14 of which involved small or large weapons. Among the victims were 26 men, 18 women, nine boys, and three girls. Saptari recorded the highest number with 13 killings, followed by nine each in Dhanusha and Siraha. Rautahat reported eight murders, Parsa six, Mahottari and Sarlahi four each, and Bara three.
For comparison, in FY 2081/82 BS, 99 people were killed in Madhesh Province, 127 in FY 2080/81 BS, and 109 in FY 2079/80 BS. During the election period, two killings in Siraha and Sarlahi occurred within secured areas, but police have yet to identify the perpetrators, posing challenges to security management in Madhesh.
