Gaighat, January 7

It has come to light that family members, including the husband, had murdered a girl due to her Dalit heritage in Udayapur some two years ago.

Police said the husband Yubaraj Karki, father-in-law Nain Bahadur and brother-in-law Sujan had murdered Sangita Biswokarma, 17, of Bahunitar in Katari Municipality-5, Udayapur. Sangita’s decayed body was found in the forest of Simle, on 31 October 2017.

At first, police had surmised that she had committed suicide by hanging herself from a tree. Police conducted a long and comprehensive investigation and proved that Sangita was killed.

Police had nabbed deceased Sangita’s brother-in-law Sujan on December 10 after police concluded that she was killed, said DSP Prem Sagar KC. After Sujan disclosed about the murder, the husband and father-in-law were arrested from Kathmandu.

According to DSP KC, family members had hatched a plot and murdered Sangita after they came to know she was a Dalit. Prem had tied the knot with Sangita after they fell in love. After knowing each other over phone, Prem and Sangita had got married. It has been disclosed that Sangita had eloped with Prem and came to Prem’s house.

After the incident, Sangita’s family members had registered a complaint with the police. After villagers suspected that Sangita was killed by her husband and family members, a case was filed with the police. Following Sangita’s murder, the Karki family had gone missing. After that, police had started investigation. The Karki family used to live in Nepal and India, police said. Police had arrested Sujan from Katari when they were tipped off about him.

Police investigation showed that the Karki family had murdered Sangita due to her low-caste after she eloped with him by lying about her caste, said DSP KC. All the three arrested have been remanded to the custody by Udayapur District Court.