KATHMANDU, JUNE 23
Mystery shrouds the gruesome murder of Santoshi Subba, whose body was found covered under a garment inside an unused public toilet around 20 feet below Dakshinkali temple on the southern outskirts of Kathmandu valley this morning.
Subba, 27, was famous for mimicking the sounds of scores of animals. She had garnered popularity in social media lately.
She was discovered by a couple of local women who had reached an isolated area to collect wild mushroom. Her face was smashed with a large stone to disfigure it and bruises were seen all over her swollen body, said police. Police surmise that the murder was committed on June 21 at the same place where her body was found.
Quoting forensic experts, police confirmed that she died of asphyxiation, as the murderer(s) had tied a scarf around her neck.
Multiple bruises were also seen all over her body, while at least two ribs slightly above the abdomen were broken.
Police confirmed that the crime was committed in the same place as there were hints that the body was dragged inside the toilet from a pool of blood just outside. Her necklace, earrings, shoes and petticoat were found near the crime scene.
Her purse, containing some makeup materials and a few visiting cards, was also found around the site.
Police also found a stone that was used to disfigure her face to confuse police about her identity.
Earlier, police had suspected that she was pregnant after seeing her swollen stomach, but they ruled out the suspicion later citing that it was due to internal bleeding as the culprit(s) had also thrashed her stomach.
Chandra Kuber Khapung, Senior Superintendent of Police at Metropolitan Police Crime Division, Kathmandu, who is leading the investigation said, "So far, it has been confirmed that the crime occurred at the same place where her body was found.
We are still investigating to find the culprits behind the act and the motive," Khapung said.
Police are not sure whether she was raped before murder.
"There are some signs such as bruises in her private parts.
However, they are not enough to prove that she was raped. We have collected her vaginal swab and can tell more about it soon," said Superintendent of Police Krishna Prasad Pangeni of the MPCD. A sniffer dog was also taken to the crime scene, which indicated that the culprit had gone towards the bus park area, which is around 200 metres away from the crime scene.
SSP Ashok Singh of Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, which is also investigating the case, told THT that they had recovered her mobile phone and her last call had been detected on the same day of her murder.
The MPR has also summoned Dhan Bahadur Tamang, the adoptive father of the victim.
They had been living in a squatter settlement at Kalo Pul in Kathmandu for around 17 years.
It was Tamang who had identified her adopted daughter on the basis of her denture as the victim didn't have front teeth from childhood.
It is still unknown how and when Subba had gone to such a place away from her hometown, particularly at a time when the prohibitory order was enforced inside Kathmandu valley during those times.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 24 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
