Protests Erupt in Surkhet Demanding Fair Probe into Death of 16-Year-Old Girl

Surkhet. Supporters of the victim have been protesting, demanding an impartial investigation into the death of 16-year-old Inisa Bika, who died in the Janajagaran Community Forest of Birendranagar Municipality-4.

On Wednesday in Birendranagar, they held a pressure demonstration with slogans such as 'Stop Rape, Murder, and Violence Against Girls'. However, the police have already arrested four juvenile boys involved in the incident and are investigating.

Inisa Bika, 16, a permanent resident of Gurbhakot Municipality-6 Badakhali and currently residing in Birendranagar Municipality-1, left home on Saturday morning saying she was going for tuition.

However, she was found unconscious around 9 a.m. in the Janajagaran Community Forest north of Birendranagar Bazaar. Doctors at the Provincial Hospital pronounced her dead when police rushed her there.

On the same day, the police took a 16-year-old boy into custody. The victim's side filed a complaint on Falgun 24. Based on that complaint, other boys aged 15, 16, and 17 have also been taken into custody for investigation, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohan Jung Budhathapa of the District Police Office, Surkhet.

The deceased girl was studying in class 11 at Usa Balbatika in Birendranagar. According to relatives, Inisa left home around 6 a.m. on the 23rd, saying she was going for tuition. However, that day was Saturday.

The school where she studied and the location where Inisa was found unconscious are quite far apart. Inisa was found covered in blood in the forest, about 10 kilometers north of the school. Police suspect that the reason she reached the forest after leaving home around 6 a.m. for tuition might be a love affair with the 16-year-old boy.

An investigating officer stated that the young man also admitted to having a love relationship during the investigation. 'Although the family was told she was going for tuition, the arrested 16-year-old boy said he was going for a morning walk,' the investigating officer said.

Police suspect that they forcibly raped and murdered her under the pretext of a morning walk. However, the investigation into the incident is ongoing, and the post-mortem report is yet to arrive. Relatives of the deceased have demanded action against the culprits, alleging murder after gang rape. Although the post-mortem was conducted at the Provincial Hospital Surkhet, the body has not yet been cremated.