The Women, Children, Elderly Citizen and Social Welfare Committee of Parliament on Tuesday directed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) bring those involved in the murder of a Tharu woman for Kanchanpur to book and investigate those police personnel who have been accused of misleading the case.

Stating that police personnel investigating the murder of Ramdulari Rana, 22, of Bedkot Municipality, Champapur, in Kanchanpur, have been accused of distorting evidence and protecting the perpetrators, the House committee asked MoHA and Nepali Police to conduct a thorough investigation.

Ramdulari was allegedly beaten to death  by the family members of Prakash Malla with whom she was said to have an affair. House committee Chair Ranju Jha also asked the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare to provide compensation to the victim’s two-and-a-a-half-year-old son.

According to right activists, the Malla family had brutally beaten Ramdulari on the night of May 31. Her body was found in the village five days later. According a complaint filed by Bito Rana, mother-in-law of the victim, when she requested DSP Kedar Khanal to find Ramdulari, police had put her husband behind bars.

Bito has also accused SP Tulasi Prasad Adhikari and DSP Khanal of District Police Office, Kanchanpur, of refusing to register an FIR. The case was eventually registered after seven days following pressure from local rights activists.

Police have been accused of not conducting the post-mortem and asking the victim’s family to take money from the Malla family and settle the case outside the court.

Home Minister Affairs Shakti Basnet informed the committee that a team headed by DIG Nawaraj Silwal has already been sent to Kanchanpur to start the investigation afresh.

Similarly, Nepali Police IG Upendra Kant Aryal told the House committee that the police administration would not tolerate any unprofessional behaviour from its security personnel. “We agree that the post-mortem could have been carried out more comprehensively which could have shed more light into the case. But let me assure the committee that those found guilty will not be spared,” said IG Aryal.

This is the second time in less than a week Minister Basnet was summoned by the House committee regarding police investigation into cases related to women from a margainalised community.  Four days ago the House panel had directed MoHA and Nepal Police to carry out a thorough investigation to the gang-rape of a speech-impaired woman from Kapilvastu.