In Brief:

• Constable Kumar Bik arrested for allegedly leaking video of accused's statement.
• Video recorded at One-Stop Crisis Management Centre went viral online
• Incident raises concerns over confidentiality in sexual violence cases
• Police also arrested Pradip Khadka, bringing suspects in custody to nine
• Garima, 3, went missing on Aug 17 and was found dead on Aug 19

BARA, AUGUST 24 A police officer involved in the investigation into the murder of three-year-old Garima Chaudhary has been arrested for allegedly making public a sensitive video of an accused person's statement. Police constable Kumar Bk, who was part of the investigation team, was taken into custody after an internal inquiry found that a police employee was responsible for posting the video on social media, according to the District Police Office, Bara. The video, recorded while investigators were taking the accused's statement at the One-Stop Crisis Management Centre of the provincial hospital, went public and drew widespread criticism. Police subsequently launched an investigation into how the sensitive footage was made public. The incident has raised concerns over the confidentiality of police investigations and handling of sensitive material in cases involving children and sexual violence. Bara police said internal investigation and legal proceedings have been initiated against Bk. Superintendent of Police Narendra Kunwar said further investigation is under way. Meanwhile, police have arrested another suspect in connection with the Garima case, taking the number of people under investigation to nine. Pradip Khadka, a student and resident of Jitpursimara-2, was arrested from his home on Monday. Police had earlier made public the arrests of 16-year-old boy and 24-year-old Progress Chaudhary, identified as suspects. The identities of six others being investigated have not been disclosed. Garima, a resident of Jitpursimara Sub-Metropolitan City-1, went missing on August 17 and was found dead inside an unoccupied house on August 19. According to SP Kunwar, investigators deployed a trained sniffer dog after her disappearance and arrested a suspect within about two hours of beginning the search operation. Further investigation is continuing.