Urlabari, Morang, April 23 ,, The situation has heated up in Pathari Sanischahre municipality in Morang as death of a married 29-year-old woman, Rina Basnet, is getting more and more mysterious.
Local people today had clashes with the police as they demonstrated a protest demanding the culprit(s) should be brought to justice. Basnet was found dead naked in the road before her rented apartment at Sajha Line of Tribeni Chowk in Pathari Sanischare-1 on April 20. She had sustained head injuries.
The police fired two rounds of teargas shells to disperse the mob as they were trying to vandalise and started hurling stones at the District Police Office, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar KC. An agitator—local resident Jit Bahadur Lawati—was hurt in the protest.
The protestors chanted slogans against the local police, vandalised the entrance to the municipality office and padlocked it and the office of Pathari Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The East-West Highway also remained affected while the market saw a shutdown. A large number of the police has been mobilised keeping in view the protest, said KC.
Meanwhile, the police have held one Kamal Nepal of Sundarharaicha municipality-3 in connection with the incident. A team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Ghana Shyam Shrestha is investigating the incident, said Inspector Kamal Bajgain.
On that fateful night, Basnet had returned home along with her 13-year-old son from a musical programme at a local stadium. The local people informed the police after they saw her body in the road in front of her rented apartment. Basnet was running a cosmetic shop in the locality.
The locals and relatives of the deceased have claimed that Basket was murdered. A 25-member struggle committee led by Kabita Parajuli, the former president of Pathari Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also been formed to press the authorities to take action against the culprit(s).
