RAUTAHAT, AUGUST 31 Criminal activity has been on the rise in Rautahat district of late. A woman aged 40 was found murdered in Rautahat last evening. The body of Mintra Devi Baitha, 40, was found in the field at Laxmipur tole of ward 3 of Gadhimai Municipality, Rautahat, last evening. She had left home at 10:00am to collect fodder for cattle. Police have started investigating the incident, said SP Rabiraj Khadka. Niranjan Ram, 20, of Jingadawa of ward 8 of Garuda Municipality, Rautahat, was murdered a fortnight ago. Four days after Ram was killed, a priest of Hanuman temple at ward 2 of Madhav Narayan Municipality, Shreeram Sah, was killed. Despite investigation, police are yet to book people involved in the priest’s murder. Police had arrested Bijay Ram for his alleged involvement in killing Niranjan Ram. Bijay died due to torture meted out by the police in custody. Among the four killed in various incidents, Niranjan, Bijay and Mintra Devi are from the Dalit community. Family members and the local Dalit people have been staging a relay hunger strike against the police in relation to the death of Bijay in police custody. Due to the protest, Area Police Office DSP Gyan Kumar Mahato was recalled to Province 2 Police Office. A three-member probe committee formed by the Home Ministry has started investigating the incident from today. A version of this article appears in e-paper on September 1, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.