UDAYAPUR, April 6: Kabita Sunuwar, 16, of Kirat Chowk, Belka Municipality-6, woke up on Tuesday as usual. Sarita Dhakal Khatri, a neighbor and close friend, came to her house when she was helping her mother with house chores.

Grade 10 students at the local Koshi Janata Secondary School, both were preparing for their SEE. On Tuesday morning, both set out for school at 5:00 in the morning. However, Kabita, who was supposed to join her class starting at 6:00 AM, did not reach the school as usual. She was found mysteriously killed in the Yashoda River, Dangtol of Belka-3, a short walk from her home.

Rumors that Kabita was found dead in the river had spread to Rampur Bazaar, when other students started taking additional tuition classes conducted by the school as a special preparation for the SEE. Kabita had left the world when a team led by Inspector Tej Prasad Dahal of the Area Police Office, Rampur, reached the spot.

A huge number of vehicles ply the Madan Bhandari Highway along which lies the school Kabita had left her home for. Kabita's house is in a village which is half an hour's walk from the school. Police have estimated that the criminal dared to kill her in a secluded place.

Though the mystery of the murder has not been revealed yet, the police have arrested Sarita and her cousin brother Binod Dhakal Khatri on the suspicion of being involved in the incident.

According to police, Binod has been living in the house of his uncle Jit Bahadur Dhakal Khatri in Belka-3. Binod actually hails from the Indian state of Sikkim. According to the police, Sarita is a suspect as she had left for school together with Kabita. The District Police Office has arrested both Sarita and Binod and launched  an investigation into the murder case.

According to District Police Chief SP Subhash Chandra Bohara, the girl was stoned to death. He said that initial investigations showed that the murderer had struck on the back of her head with a stone. SP Bohara said that they would have to wait for the post-mortem report to reveal further details.

The body of the deceased has been sent to BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, for a postmortem and the report is yet to come, he said. According to the police, the two have been arrested on the suspicion of being involved in the incident.

According to the locals, Binod, who used to come to his uncle's house from time to time to help them, is said to have fallen in love with Kabita. However, the locals have speculated that Kabita, who refused the idea of coming close to Binod, could have been led by Sarita to the site where the incident happened.

The murder of Kabita has shocked the people of Belka, while the school family and the entire village is in mourning. Many have called for immediate action to be taken against the killer, saying that they feel that their daughters have become unsafe.

Lalit Rai, a local, said that the day-to-day news of murder of school-going children meant that people weer losing humanity.

The school issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the killing of grade 10 student Kabita as cruel and inhumane. A statement issued by the School Management Committee Chairman Ganesh Basnet and Principal Suryanarayan Shah has demanded immediate action against the perpetrators.

Stakeholders have been urged to draw attention to the fact that such incidents have increased the security challenges of the people of Belka and especially girls and women.

 
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