KATHMANDU, Jan 28: An 11-year-old girl who had gone to watch television at a neighbor’s home on Saturday night was found dead near a river in Biratnagar the next day.

According to the police, the body of Rupmati Das, 11, of Biratnagar Metropolitan City-8, was found naked by the locals near the Singiya River on Sunday afternoon, some 300 meters away from her home.

The mother of the deceased told Republica that the girl had left for the neighbor’s home in the same squatter settlement at around 8 pm on Saturday night.

Rupmati’s mother Mannu Devi Das said that the girl had left her home to join her father in a nearby house to watch television but she never reached the destination, which is said to be just a couple of blocks away. She had reportedly went to a shop to buy some snacks but the shops were already closed by then.

The child’s father Ram Prasad Das was in the neighbor’s house watching television till 9 pm. When he returned home he found that the daughter was missing and immediately led a search with the help of relatives. But they could not find her anywhere. Finally, they called off the search later that night thinking that the girl, who studies in grade one, could have gone to a friend’s home.

Both Ram Prasad and Mannu Devi were worried after the child did not return home the following morning. Ram Prasad filed a missing complaint at the District Police Office (DPO) at around 10 am on Sunday. 
The police, as well as the girl’s relatives, were searching for the missing child when the locals of the nearby settlement near Singiya River informed the police about a naked dead body near the river. The police and the relatives rushed to the incident site where the family members confirmed that the body was of the missing girl. 

The DPO Morang claimed that the body was already covered with clothes by the time the police team reached the incident site. 

The DPO has already started an investigation into the case claiming that the case is of suspicious nature. Superintendent of Police (SP) Manoj Kumar KC, chief of DPO Morang, told Republica that they have made some speculations since the body was found naked but “it would be too early to jump to any conclusion.” 

“The girl was of a young age and she was found naked, which is very suspicious,” he said, “We cannot yet jump to a conclusion since the post mortem is underway.” 

Police said that the body has been sent to BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences for post mortem.

 
• Biratnagar
 
• girl
 
• death