TIKAPUR, July 8: Three-year-old Bibek Bista, who went missing on July 5, was found dead on Wednesday by the district police who on Thursday said it was a case of cold-blooded murder.
According to the police, the culprit behind the murder is a 15-year-old girl who is a relative of the murdered minor. She has been arrested on the charge of the murder. Police have also taken another 14-year-old girl into custody for her involvement in the murder.
According to Bishwa Adhikari, Deputy Superintendent of Police, the younger girl was not directly involved in the murder.
Police said that the 15-year-old girl who has been accused of the murder is a relative and a sister-like figure to the murdered child and that she took him outside to play on July 5 at around 11 AM. She led the minor to Jamara Kulo (stream) in Tikapur Municipality-4, a kilometer away from their house. She also gave the boy some fruits to eat. After reaching the stream, she led the minor to a metal swing to play. After playing for some time they returned to the stream via the longer route.
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During the investigation, when she was asked why they took the longer route, she said that the boy refused to return by the short route. “There are many bushes along the short route and babu refused to go by the short route,” Sakuntala told Adhikari.
Upon reaching the bank of Jamara, she took the silver bracelet off the boy’s feet and pushed him into the stream.
After pushing the minor into the stream, she handed the bracelet to one of her friends (the 14-year-old girl) for safekeeping and returned to her house and changed her clothes. Later, she went on to meet four other friends. Two of them even attempted to sell the silver bracelet, Adhikari said. The two girls had decided to leave for Kathmandu after selling the ornament, he added.
“The crime was done in a very clever and planned way to divert the police,” Adhikari said. Her attempts to erase her involvement shows that the murder was done with a planned motive, he added.
The murder-accused tried to confuse the police from the start. Earlier, she said that she had gone to her friend's house to borrow a book and that Bibek had accompanied her. She had also told Bibek’s mother that her son was at her friend's house.
The disappearance of Bibek was only known after his mother did not find him where the murder accused said he was. The accused had also lied about a few vehicles stopping near the minor where she had left him.
Despite her lies, Shakuntala could not disillusion the police. The police initiated a search and investigation for the lost child and were sure of finding the body near the stream, based on her information.
The dead body of the minor was found on Wednesday at around 5:30 PM, almost five kilometers away from the scene of the incident. According to the police, the cause of the planned murder has been pointed out to be a family dispute. Adhikari said, “We are currently investigating if any other party was involved in the murder,” he said.
(The identity of the accused and the accomplice is kept secret as they are minors.)
