Series of Brutal Murders Reported Across Nepal in Nine Days

Kathmandu. In the last nine days, a series of brutal and horrific murders have been witnessed in various parts of the country. In these incidents, it has been found that husbands have murdered wives, fathers have murdered sons, and acquaintances have murdered women. Such incidents have clearly exposed the rampant crime, lack of impunity, and the character of our society.

• Incident Number 1: Wife Ishwari Bhujel murdered by Kumar Thapa, known as 'Nepali Bro', in Tarkeshwor Painyutar. (Jestha 22, 2083 BS)
• Incident Number 2: Wife Salina Tolange Bishwakarma murdered by Khukuri strike by Bidur Bishwakarma near Army Barracks in Bhaktapur Municipality Ward No. 10, Chhaling Road. (Jestha 20 Wednesday)
• Incident Number 3: Son Yadav Thapa (46) murdered by father Kambiraj Thapa (approx. 71) with a Khukuri in Dailekh. (Jestha 19, 2083 BS)
• Incident Number 4: Rima Tiwari (21) of Damak, Jhapa, murdered by Rakeshkumar Pandit (34) from India, residing in Damak. (Murder on the evening of Jestha 13, body found on Jestha 16)

The four brutal murder incidents mentioned above occurred in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Dailekh, and Jhapa within a span of just nine days. While these representative incidents are outcomes of momentary anger and impulse, anthropologists and sociologists believe they could also be a sample of the frightening psychosocial problems, impunity, and anarchy that have been growing within society.

According to senior advocate and professor Dr. Ranjan Bhakta Pradhananga, recent criminal incidents have not only exposed the character of our society but also depicted how it is contributing to social fragmentation.

According to him, there isn't just one reason for the increase in such perversions in society; many factors are at play. 'Some of these brutal incidents appear to be influenced by foreign employment, which has greatly disrupted our social fabric and given rise to crime,' he said, 'Another thing is that as tolerance among individuals and society decreases, criminal incidents increase.'

Pradhananga states that criminal incidents are occurring due to unexpressed frustrations, stress, and mental illnesses, even though people may appear happy on the outside. 'People have no tolerance nowadays,' he said, 'Lack of study on moral and social values also seems to be a factor.'

Professor Pradhananga suggests that moral education subjects should be included from schools to universities.

'In some recent incidents, it's not just family quarrels, but there might be some kind of relationship issue behind them,' he said, 'Family property could also be another reason.'

According to him, the lack of moral education and the rapid development of technology have led to people becoming isolated, and the feeling that society is needed is dying out. He believes that some laws are also causing problems. 'With just a laptop and a mobile, it's become as if society is not needed. This is a dangerous aspect,' Pradhananga said, 'Therefore, we see the need to educate our entire society.'

Furthermore, some are citing the prevailing notion of impunity, where criminals believe they can get away with their actions, as a reason for the increase in incidents. Some believe that the security agencies not taking victims' complaints and petitions seriously, and the weakening of state and legal fear, could be other reasons.

According to psychologist and Tribhuvan University Gender Studies (MPhil PhD Scholar) Savitri Gautam, incidents may be repeating due to a lack of accountability and people's arrogance towards power.

'The ratio of men killing women or husbands killing wives appears to be 159, while the ratio of women killing men or wives killing husbands is 28,' said psychologist Gautam, 'Criminal mentality of people cannot be justified by anything.'

Gautam states that the occurrence of such criminal incidents should be understood as society moving towards a dangerous state. 'We can understand that our society is heading towards a dangerous situation, and on the other hand, the increasing graph of husbands murdering wives can be understood as a game of power or ego.'

She indicated that people might be getting involved in one crime after another due to a lack of accountability.

According to anthropologist Dr. Dambar Chemjong, such incidents used to happen before as well, but they were not widely reported. He stated that with the increased accessibility of communication in recent days, incidents have started to become public. 'Now, communication facilities have increased, and it's one aspect that many people are becoming aware of,' said Dr. Chemjong, 'But from a sociological and anthropological perspective, today's family is not like the family of yesterday.'

He explained that in the past, society was built on collectivism, family ties, community, and kinship, which was called social संस्कार (sanskar - tradition/values). 'There used to be a feeling that if the संस्कार and institutional values and beliefs were not there, then I don't exist, my society made me,' he told Ratopati, 'But now, individual-centric thinking has become dominant.'

Chemjong believes that due to this, the role of family or society, relationships, and kinship ties have weakened. 'The ego of 'I am' has increased in society more than 'my parents, my family'.' He stated that instead of looking at where society is going, one should understand how and in what form society is changing.

According to Dr. Chemjong, looking at the form of this change, people are gradually becoming individualistic from social. 'People became individualistic from social. When the government, society, and state did not understand how and at what pace and character the development of individualism and personalism was happening, the incidents of Bhadra 23 and 24 occurred,' he said.

He gave an example that individuals, families, and society today do not create things alone, saying, 'The government and those in the state should consider the issues of generational change, transformation, and change in thinking in the context of a changing environment.'

Tek Prasad Rai, a crime investigation expert and former AIG of Nepal Police, states that criminal incidents have increased in Nepali society due to the use of social media, lack of moral education among people, and misuse of technology. 'Social media has not been used correctly. That is, its misuse has started,' he said, 'Its regulation seems necessary.'

Former AIG Rai believes that for society to move in the right direction, individuals must first be conscious. 'We say the state is responsible for my security, but we need to understand that it is only a theoretical matter, and we need to understand that I am responsible for my own security,' he said, citing the example of Bhadra 23 and 24, 'Where was the state in the incidents of 23 and 24? The country was burning. The state could not even protect the property of individuals, let alone the property of the state.'

Rai said that the biggest thing is that due to the lack of moral education in people, issues like sex, wealth, anger, and impulse become involved, leading people to participate in criminal acts.

'Overall, the development of technology is being misused,' Rai told Ratopati, 'It looks like development, but interaction between members of the same household has stopped. There is a growing concern that this will lead society towards further accidents.'