UDAYPUR, Jan 16: A girl from Khotang was found dead on Monday morning. Ranjita Dahal,17, of Mahadevsthan in Halesi Tuwachung Municipality-7, who lost contact with her family while returning home from school the previous day, was found dead near her home at 7:00 am on Monday.
She went to school on Sunday morning to prepare for the sports competition under a cultural program to be held in the school from January 16.
When she was returning home from school at 3:30 in the afternoon, her friends had requested Dahal to visit their home and have delicacies including ‘selroti’ but she refused saying that she was in a hurry.
Rock garden in Khotang to pull tourists
However, she never made it to her home. Her family assumed that she was staying with a friend overnight but they started searching for her after she did not reach the next morning.
While the family started a frantic search, Dahal’s body was foound at the foot of a tree, 200 meters away from her home.
Chief District Officer Surya Prasad Sendhai confirmed that the girl was found dead and the police were sent to the incident spot for investigation. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Manjil Mukarung said that the preliminary investigation of the police showed that she had committed suicide and the detailed cause is yet to be ascertained. According to DSP Mukarung, a piece of shawl was tied around the dead girl's neck and half a piece of shawl was also found on one of the branches of the tree.
Mayor Bimala Rai said that it is assumed that the girl may have committed suicide. Mayor Rai, who visited the spot after finding out that the girl was found dead, said that it look like she had committed suicide by hanging herself with a scarf, but the exact reason will be revealed only after the post-mortem report is available.
Locals said that the death of the girl is suspicious as such incidents have happened before and demanded a fair investigation. Locals believe that it was not a suicide but a murder as there were bruises on the eyes, lips and neck of the deceased.
DSP Mukarung said that the post-mortem report will determine whether the girl was killed and hanged or if she committed suicide by hanging herself.
