Gang rape and murder of Nepali girl in Bihar 

A Nepali girl has been killed after being gang-raped in the eastern Champaran district of Bihar, India. According to BBC, her body was forcibly cremated after the murder.

Preliminary investigation and a viral video have indicated that the local Police Chief was involved in the whole incident. SP Navin Chandra Jha said that the Police Station Chief, who was under suspicion, has been suspended and an FIR may be filed against him.

According to Suresh (name changed) from Nepal who has been working in Chainpur in Motihari, India, the incident took place on January 21. Suresh had gone to work that day while his son had gone to the market. When his son was returning from the market at around 4 pm, his landlord Siyaram Shah stopped him. 

‘But, when my son reached home without listening to the landlord, he saw his sister lying on the ground injured. Then, he called me. When I reached home, my daughter was still lying on the ground. She had a red spot on her neck. I took her to the doctor for treatment. However, no one refused to undergo treatment,” Suresh said in a written petition to the East Champaran Sub-Divisional officer.

According to Suresh, the accused’s friends and family gathered there after that. They immediately started pressuring to burn the corpse.

Suresh said in the petition, “Devendra Kumar Shah threatened to burn the body immediately saying that otherwise he would kill my son too and throw him in Nepal. Then my fingerprints were stamped on a plain piece of paper, and at 12 o’clock at night, the body was cremated, using salt and sugar, at the side of Pokhar Road. In the morning, I was chased towards Nepal.”  

The initial complaint of the incident on January 21 was registered only on February 2. A total of 11 accused have been made, including four – Vinay Sah, Deepak Kumar Sah, Ramesh Sah and Devendra Kumar Sah on charges of gang rape and murder. Similarly, Siyaram Sah, the owner of the house, is also among the other seven. He is accused of forcibly burning the body and destroying evidence.

An audio went viral on February 5 after the FIR was registered. In the audio, a conversation of January 21 between Sanjeev Kumar Ranjan, Police Station Chief of Kundwa Chainpur and one of the accused, Ramesh Shah, can be heard. During the conversation, Police Station Chief Sanjeev Kumar said to the accused Ramesh Sah, “Get rid of the girl and write that she died of cold.”

SP Jha told the BBC that two people had been arrested in the incident. A committee has been formed to arrest the other accused.