Surkhet District Court Orders Detention of Four Minors in Inisa Rape and Murder Case

Surkhet. The Surkhet District Court has ordered all four minors arrested on charges of rape and murder of Inisa BK to be sent to a juvenile correction center for trial. On Tuesday, Judge Deepak Dhakal of the Surkhet District Court's Juvenile Bench issued this order.

The prosecution (Government of Nepal/Victim) was represented by District Attorney Karna Bahadur Mahat, Assistant District Attorneys Aarti Chapai, Pushpa Chalise, and advocates Govindaram Pariyar, Rajendra Bharati, Mangalsen Sarki, Bhumiprasad Sapkota, and Ishwarbhakta Sunar.

The accused minors were represented by advocates Shankar Poudel, Anil Bahadur Shahi, Uttamprasad Acharya, Bibash Kumar Basnet, Khagendra Bahadur Khanal, and Narayan Nath Yogi.

According to Court Information Officer Ujjwal Rawal, while they have been sent to the correction center for trial, the final verdict is still pending. 'The final decision on this case will be made only after studying all witness statements and evidence,' he said.

The court has made a preliminary finding that the incident involved gang rape and that Inisa was subjected to extreme sexual violence.

However, according to the police investigation report, the public prosecutor's charge sheet, and CCTV footage, there is no strong evidence regarding the role of others besides Inisa's alleged boyfriend, 'Birendranagar P'.

Nevertheless, the court did not find a situation where the other three accused could be declared innocent at this stage. Relatives of the three minors protested against the public prosecutor's charge sheet on Monday and Tuesday.

They demonstrated, chanting, 'Punish the guilty, not the innocent; make justice visible, not for sale.'

They allege that while every investigation report indicated no gang rape, the public prosecutor's office is trying to frame innocent individuals by charging them with gang rape. They claim that the judiciary is being influenced and innocent children are being framed.

Inisa, 16, a permanent resident of Gurvakot Municipality-6, Badakholi, had been living with her family in Birendranagar Municipality-1.

On Saturday, Falgun 23, a holiday, she left home at 6 AM saying she was going for tuition and was found unconscious around 9 AM in the Janajagaran Community Forest, north of Birendranagar Municipality-4.

When police took her to the Provincial Hospital, doctors declared her dead. On the same day, police took her alleged boyfriend, 'Birendranagar P', into custody from the scene.

Inisa's mother filed a complaint against three others on Falgun 24, alleging gang rape and murder. Police arrested those three minors on the same day.

Although the court ordered all four accused to be sent to the juvenile correction center for trial, the discrepancy between the police investigation and the public prosecutor's office's letter raises serious questions.

On Chaitra 11, the police submitted their investigation report to the public prosecutor's office, which concluded that it was a case of individual rape, not gang rape. The police concluded that Inisa died due to excessive bleeding after her sensitive organs were torn during the forced intercourse by her alleged boyfriend.

The police recommended charging him with rape and homicide, seeking life imprisonment. Regarding the other 3, the police submitted a report to the public prosecutor's office to charge them with homicide.

The police's conclusion was to charge them with homicide on the grounds that they did not help take Inisa to the hospital in time and did not inform the police or family in time.

However, on Sunday, the public prosecutor's office filed a charge sheet in court claiming that it was a planned gang rape and charged all four with 'gang rape and homicide'.

The court based its order to send the other three to the correction center on that same charge sheet.

Inisa's boyfriend 'P' has stated that he and the deceased had consensual sexual relations, during which she suddenly started bleeding and became unconscious. 'After that, I begged my friends to come and help take her to the hospital,' he said in his statement.

The three other minors also said they reached the scene to help because 'P' asked for assistance. However, due to their presence at the time of the incident and the gruesome nature of the scene, the court ordered them to be sent to the correction center for trial.

The court issued the order based on the complainant's statement, noting that although the accused claimed they did not commit rape or murder, they admitted to being at the scene, did not appear to have rescued the victim, were in phone contact with 'P', and failed to inform the police or villagers despite being at the scene.

'Based on all the evidence, it cannot be said that the children in conflict with the law, Birendranagar 'D', 'N', and 'F', are innocent at this time, so the order has been issued to be decided upon further examination of evidence,' the order stated.

The court's main basis for sending the other three to trial was the statement and complaint of Inisa's mother, which claimed that 'P' lured her and called his friends 'D', 'N', and 'F', and they all committed gang rape, leading to her death from excessive bleeding.

Inisa's mother had initially stated that on the morning of the incident at 6 AM, all the boys came to her house and took her away saying there was a practical exam at school. But she later corrected that statement. Later, she said her daughter left home alone saying she was going to school.

However, when the public prosecutor's office submitted the charge sheet to the court, it appeared to prioritize the mother's earlier statement over her corrected one. This has left room for questioning the accused.

Additionally, the court noted that forest guards and other witnesses provided statements regarding their presence at the scene, and the nature of the incident was serious.

The court used the interpretation of the post-mortem report as another basis. The report mentions a 3 cm long and 1 cm deep wound inside the vagina, tearing of the inner wall below the cervix, and excessive bleeding.

The court does not seem to believe the statement given by 'P' in court that 'the deceased was my girlfriend, we had consensual sex twice, and she suddenly bled and died, I did not kill her.'

The court has taken this as a fact of 'rape committed with extreme sexual violence.' And it has stated that this does not match the claim of 'consensual sexual intercourse.'

Another basis for the court to send the other boys to trial along with 'P' is the discovery of more than one condom at the scene. Police recovered one blood-stained condom, one opened, and 3 unopened condoms from the scene.

Additionally, the ground at the scene appeared disturbed, suggesting a struggle, and the deceased's scattered clothes were found.