MORANG, July 20: The rape of a minor girl has come to light six months after the crime took place. The incident of rape of an 8-year-old girl from Kanepokhari Rural Municipality of Morang was made public toward mid-July.
It has been found that the incident of rape that took place six months ago was reconciled in the village itself. On July 14, the victim girl's father filed a complaint against 43-year-old Kajiman Puri of Kanepokhari Rural Municipality-6. DSP Rajan Karki of Morang Police informed Republica that Puri was arrested on Monday based on the complaint filed against him.
Break taboos to reinstate rape victims
According to the police, it was found that on January 19, Puri took the girl to his house and raped her. But on the same day, the local leaders pressured the victim's family not to publicize the incident and to reconcile with the perpetrator. After agreeing to pay compensation to the victim's family, the two sides were reconciled.
"Puri was arrested after a complaint that he had raped the girl was filed against him," DSP Karki said, "This incident took place six months ago". The incident came to light only after the victim girl's father filed a complaint. Soon after the incident, it was agreed to pay compensation to the victim and her mother. The police have started investigating this incident.”
The victim girl's father used to live outside the district for work. Only his wife and daughter were living in the house. The incident came to light only after the girl's father came home. Stating that he was not home at the time of the incident as he was away due to work, the girl's father said, "Even after I came home, no one told him about the incident. Neither my wife nor my daughter said anything about the rape.” He said that he came to know about the incident only when his daughter fell ill.
“My daughter told me about the incident in the course of treatment for her urinary problem,” the girl’s father said, “When I inquired about the incident, I found out that Puri and some locals had pressured them not to make the incident public.” According to the father, the mother and daughter were warned against making the incident public. “They had threatened to kill my wife and daughter so they kept quiet about the incident,” he said.
