Prime suspect in Bhagarathi murder case paraded before media

Dhangadi: Police in Baitadi district have paraded an approximately 18-year-old boy as the key suspect and “perpetrator” in the “murder and rape” case involving a 17-year-old high-school girl whose body was found on a slope in Dogadakedar two weeks ago.

Sudurpaschim Province Police DIGP Uttam Raj Subedi, who led investigations into the murder of Bhagarathi Bhatta, said the accused boy was a classmate of the victim, adding that he followed the victim before strangling her to death in a quiet place on their way home.

The two are said to be neighbors whose families harbored some kind of “enmity” the details of which are still unclear.

DIGP Subedi told a press conference in Baitadi Wednesday: “Our preliminary investigations’ findings conclude that the accused was involved in the murder and rape of the victim.

“Eye witness accounts, the accused’s technical location at the time when the incident happened and the statements he has given to us show that he’s the one involved in this crime.”

According to Subedi, the accused has confessed in his statement to the police that he tried to rape the victim after strangling her to death but “later stopped.”

Police say they are expecting forensic test report in a few days, which could furnish more evidences to corroborate conclusions of their preliminary investigations, which, they say are continuing.

The parading of the 18-year-old accused in the Bhagarathi’s murder case follows weeks of angry protests demanding strict punishment against the guilty and justice to the victim’s family.

Police have expressed hope that after the successful conclusion of Bhagarathi case, they would be successful in also capping investigations into the rape and murder of Kanchanpur’s 13-year-old Nirmala Panta, whose body was found nearly two and half years ago.

The mystery surrounding Nirmala Panta’s rape and murder remain unresolved as yet.