POKHARA, Sept 27: Even before the rape and murder of Kanchanpur's Nirmala Panta has moved off public radar, a minor has been raped and murdered in Kaski this week.
Shreeya Sunar, 10, of Pokhara Metropolitan City-22, Pumbdibhumdi had gone missing on Monday and she was found dead on Tuesday in the forest of Kodi.
Sunar went missing since 5 pm on Monday and her body was recovered at around 8 pm the next day. From the condition of the victim's body, her injuries and clothes, locals said the victim must have been raped. A postmortem report confirmed that it was rape and murder.
Was Nirmala's murder planned?
Police have arrested a 27-year-old man on the charge of rape and murder. Police said he has admitted to raping and murdering the child. The suspect lived nearby the house of the victim. The suspect is a married man and has a four-year-old daughter.
Locals, women and human right activists and members of various organizations staged protest in front of District Police Office, Kaski on Wednesday demanding immediate arrest of the culprit. Police expedited their investigations and arrested the suspect within hours.
Shreeya used to live in her maternal uncle's house in Kodi. Two years ago, her father brought second wife after which her mother Bel Kumari Sunar started living in her parental home with her four children. The victim was a third grader at Lilaballabh Basic School.
On Monday evening, the child had left home to buy biscuits at a local shop. As she did not return till late in the evening, the family members started a search for her. But she was found dead in the jungle only on the next day.
It has been learnt through the police that the suspect, who was drunk, lured the child with Rs 10 and took her to an abandoned house in the locality. When the suspect attempted to sexually assault the child, she attempted to escape after which he threw her in a bush near the house and raped her, according to police. When the child fell unconscious, he killed her with a stone.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Ward Police Office, Baidam, informed that 30 police personnel were deployed to search for the child and investigate into the case. They were finally able to arrest him on Wednesday.
