Accused Teenager's Video Statement in Rape and Murder Case Leaked, Raising Questions on Police Investigation

Kathmandu. The video of the accused in the rape and murder of a 3-year-old girl of Chaudhary caste in Simra, Bara, is all over social media. The video of the 16-year-old boy arrested on charges of raping and murdering the girl giving a detailed statement about the incident has raised serious questions about the investigators. The video shows two police officers with the handcuffed teenage suspect laughing and talking about the incident. Two other individuals are seen recording the video with mobile phones. Stakeholders say that although the investigation of such a heinous crime should be conducted with extreme caution and secrecy, the police have shown serious negligence in the investigation. The girl was found dead on August 2 in Ward No. 1 of Jitpur Simra Sub-Metropolitan City. The innocent girl was found dead three days after she went missing from home. Police investigation concludes that the girl was raped and murdered. A total of 9 people, including the teenage boy giving the video statement and Pradip Khadka, have been arrested so far in connection with the incident. DSP Min Bahadur Ghale of the District Police Office, Bara, said, "We have taken 9 people, including Pradip Khadka, involved in the incident, under control." Based on the statement of the boy in the video, another accused, Khadka, was arrested. After the incident, there was a protest, and an agreement was reached after a meeting of 5 ministers, including the Home Minister. The Simra incident shows how negligent the investigating officers are, even though it is a serious incident and 5 ministers of the country sat down to prevent further accidents. Questions have been raised about the police investigation process as the details of the investigation and the accused's statements have been made public. Following protests by locals alleging that the information about the girl's disappearance was ignored and the investigation was negligent, DSP Dilip Chhetri, working at the Area Police Office Simra in Bara, was recalled to the Police Headquarters and DSP Dayakrishan Bhatta was sent in his place. Police officials say that although the higher authorities in the state have taken the incident seriously, the investigating officers and police personnel working in the district are treating it as "it is what it is". The preliminary investigation by the police concludes that the video was made at the hospital when the accused teenager was taken for a medical examination. SP Narendra Kunwar of Bara said, "It appears the doctor questioned the accused and a video was made at that time; we are investigating." The investigation is being led by DSP Min Bahadur Ghale of the District Police Office, Bara. It is suspected that the video made at the hospital was leaked through social media by police personnel or someone else. It is the duty of investigating officers to maintain the confidentiality of the accused in a murder case. Investigating officers must maintain the confidentiality of the accused while they are in police custody. However, the police have grossly violated their procedures and legal boundaries in this case. Police officials say that the leakage of evidence that should have been kept confidential during the investigation could create further problems. However, in Bara, the police have been found to be promoting a style of cheap publicity through negligence. What did the teenager say in the video statement? I had a friend named Pradip Khadka. He said that if there is a child, we should kidnap, have sex with, and kill them. He studies and lives in Simra. His house is a 10-minute walk from my house. That day, I went from Pathlaiya to Birgunj, picked up staff there, and came home. I also picked up (my friend) from Simra. We didn't want to have sex, but a child was playing. We lured her with chocolate and took her, Garima. There were two children playing, and we scared them away, and they ran home. My friend and I wanted to have sex. We took her to a nearby house and had sex as much as we wanted. I took Garima to that house first, and then Pradip came. We had intercourse as much as we wanted. The sister had fainted. Then, if she wakes up and tells about us, we should kill her, so he (Pradip) went and murdered her. After the murder, we went to Hetauda. Gross Violation of Law Senior Advocate Purnachandra Poudel states that matters under investigation must be kept highly confidential. He says that the police are not allowed to release statements and conversations made during the investigation of any crime. Poudel says that bringing out the statement in that manner just to show the crowd is not legal. He said, "This is a gross violation of the law." Senior Advocate Poudel stated that it is wrong for the police to make public the photos and videos of individuals arrested for investigation. According to the universal principle of law, any accused is considered "innocent" until proven guilty by a court. Making the statement video public leads to a "media trial" of the person in society, and they are seen as guilty, which affects the administration of justice. Senior Advocate Poudel says, "Some matters of investigation need to be kept confidential; if statements are made public, there is a risk of other criminals escaping or evidence being destroyed." If the police publicly release videos and photos in violation of the investigation's boundaries, the police personnel involved can face actions such as a warning, suspension of promotion, suspension, or even dismissal from service, according to police regulations for acting against their official conduct. Making videos and photos public is a violation of the Children's Act, 2075 (2018). The Supreme Court has issued directive orders at various times not to conduct "media trials" and to respect the dignity of the accused. Releasing the video also constitutes contempt of the Supreme Court's mandamus. On July 24, 2022, a bench of Supreme Court Justices Tej Bahadur KC and Manoj Kumar Sharma issued a clear mandamus: "Stop the practice of presenting arrested accused to the media through press conferences." The court had strictly instructed the police to respect the constitutional right of a person to be presumed "innocent" until proven guilty by the court (Article 20(2) and the right to privacy under Article 280). Section 19 of the Children's Act, 2075 (2018) completely prohibits the public disclosure of any details such as the name, address, photograph, or identity of a child under investigation. "If anyone breaks this rule, it is an offense under Section 66(d), and according to Section 69, the person committing such an act shall be liable to a fine of up to sixty thousand rupees or imprisonment for up to one year or both."