15 murders in seven months

ITAHARI, Feb 12: In terms of security concern, Sunsari can be taken as the most sensitive district in Province 1. As it shares and open border with India, people living in various parts of Sunsari often have to fear for their lives and safety. In recent days, the district has been turning into a crime hub.

A number of murder cases have terrorized the locals here. On Tuesday, Nara Bahadur Chhetri Bhandari, 85, of Ramdhuni-1 was found dead in his room. He was bleeding from head. SP Rajan Adhikari, chief of the District Police Office (DPO), Sunsari informed Republica that they suspect foul play in the suspicious death of Bhandari.

"We suspect it must be a case of robbery as some of the things are missing in his residence," said SP Adhikari. A team of police under the leadership of DSP Gyanendra Phuyal has been deployed to investigate into the case. The deceased owned a two-storey house. He used to live in the upper floor of the same house while the ground floor was rented.

"We received a call from the tenants in the morning. When we reached here we found our father dead," said Durga Bahadur Bhandari, the younger son of the deceased. Nara Bahadur has two sons from two wives. The elder son lives in Ramdhuni-4 while the younger one lives in Itahari-5. His first wife died a few years ago and his second wife is living with her son Durga. His body has been sent to BP Koirala Institute of Health and Sciences (BPKIHS), Dharan for postmortem.

Just a day ago, a youth living in rent in the house of Dil Kumari Limbu of Itahari-4 killed a woman living in the same house. Lal Bahadur Rai, 36, of Solukhumbu, who worked as a laborer in Itahari, murdered Sonia Rai, 29, of Khotang, Jyamire.

Sonia's husband Surya Bahadur Nepali is working abroad since the past six years.

As per the preliminary investigation of police, Lal Bahadur and Sonia were having an illicit relation. Despite living in separate rooms, they shared the same kitchen. It had been around nine months since they started living that way.

"We have learnt that they had a dispute over financial issue after which Lal Bahadur killed Sonia under the influence of alcohol," said Police Inspector Budhi Prasad Chaulagain of Area Police Office (APO), Itahari.

Police was successful in arresting Lal Bahadur, who had tried to run away following the incident. A murder case has been filed against him. It has been revealed that Sonia has two children from her first husband Dan Bahadur Magar of Surkhet. She later married Surya Bahadur and was apparently planning to marry Lal Bahadur as she did not have good terms with her estranged husband.

The cases of extra marital affair have become rampant in the district especially among those women whose spouses are in foreign land for employment. As per the record maintained by the DPO, 15 people have been murdered in Sunsari in the last seven months of the current fiscal year. Police have filed cases against 25 men and two women for their involvement in these murders.

 
• Sunsari
 
• murders
 
• crime