DHANGADHI, FEBRUARY 9

Students on Tuesday organised a protest in front of Sudur Pashchim Chief Minister's office demanding justice for Bhagirathi Bhatta, 17, who, according to the police, was murdered after being sexually assaulted.

CM Trilochan Bhatta, who had assumed office in 2018, is the incumbent Chief Minister of the remote Sudurpaschim province.

Earlier on Thursday, the dead body of a 17-year-old girl was found in a local community forest in Dogdakedar Rural Municipality of Baitadi District. On Monday, based on the findings of the post-mortem report, police had concluded that the girl was sexually assaulted by the perpetrator(s) prior to being strangled to death.

Widespread rage amongst the locals in the area can be witnessed as they are frequently demonstrating demanding an efficient probe. Bhagirathi's mother on Monday had shared that all she wanted was the perpetrator(s) to be behind bars.

The case is catching political steam nationwide as top political leaders including former Prime Ministers Sher Bahadur Deuba, Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Nepal have attempted to draw the attention of the government officials on the matter.

Similarly, the matter had made its way into the provincial assembly wherein the representatives had lamented that the government officials had failed to publicize the details concerning the case, putting the government's transparency and competence into questioning.

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