KATHMANDU, June 27: On Wednesday (June 25) morning, 11-year-old girl Nisha Tamang was found dead on a cliff in Kol village of Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality-5 in Sindhupalchowk. Her body was found on the cliff of Chhyadikhola forest, about 4 meters below her house.
Villagers who went to look for mushrooms in the forest in the morning found Nisha's body in a gruesome condition. The police were informed about the incident after which an investigation was initiated.
"At first glance, the incident appeared to be a case of murder. However, we also suspected that rape might have occurred," said Rameshwor Karki, Superintendent of Police (SP) at the Sindhupalchowk District Police Office. At that point, the perpetrator had not yet been identified.
An investigation team led by SP Karki was immediately mobilized, and two trained sniffer dogs from the Police Headquarters’ Canine Unit, under the command of Inspector Krishna Basnet, were deployed to the scene.
The police had already identified the crime scene before the sniffer dogs arrived. According to investigators, corn stalks in the nearby field were found broken, and a bloodstained stone was recovered from the site. It appeared that the victim had been killed by a blow to the head with the stone. Officers suspected the body had been moved from the scene and dumped over a nearby cliff.
Murderer of teenage girl arrested after 20 years
Around the same time, two young men had already come under suspicion. “We had a strong suspicion about the two individuals from the beginning,” said SP Karki, “Their behavior and body language were questionable. Based on the condition of the crime scene, it didn’t seem like an act that could have been committed by just one person.”
When the trained dog arrived at the scene, it confirmed the police's suspicions. “After sniffing the bloodied stone used in the murder, the dog led us directly to the house of one of the suspects,” said SP Karki, “The clothes he was wearing at the time of the incident were also recovered from his residence.”
Based on the same information, the police have arrested five people and made them public on Friday. The arrested are Nima Tenzing Tamang, 21, Wangnima Tamang, 22, Namgyal Sherpa, 32, Dawa Tamang, 20 and Lakpa Pasang Tamang, 22, all of whom are from the same area.
Condoms from health post, alcohol consumption followed by gang rape
According to police, all five arrested individuals confessed to their involvement during initial interrogation. SP Rameshwor Karki stated that the accused had planned the assault in advance, bringing condoms from a local health post earlier that day and consuming alcohol together before committing the crime.
“They are all neighbors and appear to be closely related to the victim,” said SP Karki. “Given the nature of the incident and the statements made by the accused, it appears to have been premeditated.”
The incident occurred at around 10 pm on June 24.
“On that day, the accused went to the health post in the afternoon and procured condoms. ‘All five consumed alcohol during the night,’ said SP Karki. “Following that, they took the girl to a cornfield and raped her.”
The 11-year-old girl could not endure the abuse inflicted by the five accused. “After she began crying, they admitted to killing her by striking her head with a stone,” said SP Karki.
Following the murder, four of them carried her body and disposed of it over a cliff. “One of the accused later went to discard the condom used during the assault into the river,” he added.
The police have secured a seven-day remand from the Sindhupalchowk District Court for the arrested suspects and are continuing their investigation, SP Karki said.
