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Police launch investigation into Kailali witchcraft torture incident
Police on Saturday said they have started an investigation into Thursday’s incident in which an 18-year-old girl from Deukali village of Ghodaghodi Municipality-5, Kailali, was tortured for six hours by villagers accusing her of being a witch.DR Panta
Police on Saturday said they have started an investigation into Thursday’s incident in which an 18-year-old girl from Deukali village of Ghodaghodi Municipality-5, Kailali, was tortured for six hours by villagers accusing her of being a witch.
The main accused Ram Bahadur Chaudhary, a local shaman, has been arrested again after he was freed by the Sukhand Area Police Office.
Police have also intensified their search for six other suspects involved in the incident, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police Sagar Bohara.
Chief District Officer Govinda Rijal said the authorities will bring the perpetrators to justice.
“A case is being prepared against the persons involved in this depraved attack. They will not be spared,” he said.
District Police Office has demanded explanation from the in charge of Sukhand Area Police Office for not pressing any charge against the main suspect, Ram Bahadur, and releasing him by allegedly coercing the victim and her family to settle the case. Police Sub-inspector Dinesh Bista of Sukhand Area Police Office has said that the mayor of Ghodaghodi Municipality, Mamata Prasad Chaudhary, and the ward chairman of the municipality, Prem Rokaya, were present at the police station for the case settlement.
Mayor Mamata Prasad has come under fire for denying legal remedy to the victim and protecting the perpetrators.
But he claims he has been dragged into controversy for unnecessary reasons.
“It was a horrendous crime and the perpetrators should be punished,” he said. He neither accepted nor denied overseeing the case settlement that had allowed the main suspect, Ram Bahadur, to walk out of the police station without being charged.
The victim’s brother, Dipesh, said police had freed Ram Bahadur because of his political connections.
“My family is still being pressured to drop the case,” he said. Meanwhile, the victim is undergoing treatment at the Seti Zonal Hospital. She has suffered injuries all over her body. Doctors said her condition was getting better.
Several women lawmakers from Province 7 have visited her at the hospital after learning about the incident.
The provincial government has agreed to pay for her medical expenses.